


Chapter 168 is the evil reincarnated so I fix it

by Cinicalamente



Category: Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Gen, I treat Luna as the comic relief she is, In Character, Jealousy, Kohaku and Xeno story is more a pre relationship but i love them so ignore me, Love Confessions, Luna probabily is more smart in this story than the canon, M/M, Not Beta Read, Realist Xeno, Romantic Comedy, Sengen is every universe is more canon than poorly fanservice, There is also some fanservice for minor couple like in the manga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:08:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26821921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinicalamente/pseuds/Cinicalamente
Summary: Chapter 168 is the evil reincarnated so I fix it, because fan fictions exist for this reason.I want to be clear: I really love Dr. Stone, Inagaki sensei and Boichi sensei. I don't like seeing a story I really love and follow for more than a year ends like this.However, in this chapter there are too much I can't handle it.This fanfiction is for calming myself and for asking justice after we had:Bipolar Xeno, poorly fanservice because see how much Senkuu cares about a filler character, Luna comic relief but it doesn't make no one laugh, they win but no one recognize it, plot holes and deus ex machina (Xeno's boat! For what? Xeno doesn't leave his castle and he has a boat parking there like a car for no reasons), no one cares about their friend and love interest (according to all previous fanservice) being shot, Senkuu is an ungrateful bastard, warriors in the american empire who first shot, built weapons and then they are stupid enough to make escape people or being pacifist like Ukyo, Senkuu before he was dying and then he was happy to meet a man he never talked about before even when he reach America and the same Xeno who never talked about Senkuu to Stanley who is his childhood friend, and more.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu, Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu, Francois & Nanami Ryuusui, Kohaku/Dr. Xeno (Dr. STONE), Stanley Snyder & Dr. Xeno, Stanley Snyder/Dr. Xeno (mentioned)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 67





	1. From page 1 to page 11

**Author's Note:**

> I don't write this story to make you trigger or ship shaming you, so please read tags in case you don't like them, I don't suggest reading it. Even because this is my ideas and I'll change for hearing some others. For everyone was here for my same reason, have fun! ♡
> 
> \- Some lines are from the chapter we don't nominate while some lines are taken from Game of thrones because I want to do this. I put the canon lines in bold even if i changed them a bit because i translated them by heart and not checking the manga while references to got are in italics, the rest is all mine. 
> 
> Btw Ryuusui is definitely a Lannister (Gen too), Stanley is a true Targaryen and Senkuu's trust in everyone even his own murderer screams he is a Stark.
> 
> \- I will update in this week, before new chapter will come out and also I'll update soon "things we do for love" too ♡
> 
> \- This story will finish with Sengen so give it some time to reach the fluff 💗

**"Senkuu! We have captured the enemy king, we have won!"**

Senkuu Ishigami could not relax his tired limbs even though the energetic voice of Chrome on the other side of the phone had given life to his only desire.

"Yeah, yeah, but we're not claiming victory yet," he replied in the only language his disciple knew at the time. "If we were to evaluate the fight just by looking at our side, we would have lost."

Ryuusui, next to him, let out a strangled sound, looking through binoculars at the remains of their beloved Perseus. Along with the plane that it luckily didn't catch fire when it crashed, their refuge, means of transport and escape was also destroyed and occupied by Xeno's men.

People said that a captain died inside every time his ship suffered dire consequences and, looking at his eyes, it was clear that Ryuusui also confirmed this popular belief.

However, he was still the heir to the Nanami family and as long as his heart was hungry for revenge, he would never stop.

He was the greediest man in the world after all, and in addition to wanting to avenge Senkuu, now the 'death' of Perseus from Xeno weighed on his conscience as well.

"They captured the enemy king," Ryuusui repeated, lowering his hat to his eyes. "Leave him to me. _I'll show him what the Nanami do to their enemies_ ," he said but Senkuu ignored him. He didn't know how serious he was, but it was better not to risk it. 

Even on the plane, the captain had proved very reckless, throwing away the only protection he had against a head injury.

Senkuu started walking towards Xeno's castle and Ryuusui followed him. After a few meters Senkuu was forced to lean on his friend due to fatigue.

The holes in his chest had reopened, staining the gauze and robe with blood, but he couldn't stop in the middle of the woods, without even trying to talk to Xeno.

He had been his mentor, the second man who believed in him and in the love he had for science. He didn't know what his life had done to Xeno to make him his enemy, but perhaps if he reminded him of what it was for him, he would understand, he would accept a truce.

Senkuu could have lost his life, but if he had known that Xeno was no longer an obstacle, that he would have helped others to reach the other cities on their itinerary… perhaps he would have gone to hell with a smile.

It was Ukyo's voice that interrupted their steps after a few minutes.

" **Our current position… is west-northwest from the enemy base. We're hiding near the riverbank**."

Ryuusui lifted his head and with a single leap led Senkuu through another path. Of the short message, Senkuu sensed that Ukyo had used Japanese without caring about being intercepted.

Xeno was the only one speaking it, then.

It was like him to want to know everything from the world, to avoid that he could have surprises of some kind. Curious how in the end he ended up being their prisoner.

A man so brilliant that he made the mistake of underestimating them, the Japanese science empire.

"Forgiveness isn't always the solution," Ryuusui muttered even though Senkuu was sure he had said it to be heard. "I am the greediest man in the world and I know what it means to desire everything, but there is a limit sometimes."

Senkuu put one foot in front of the other, his arm around the other boy's shoulder and held back the grimaces of pain but didn't answer him.

Ryuusui talking about not wanting something was really bad. However even without his opinion, Senkuu was the first to know that Xeno had gone too far to accept his defeat without trying to fight. More importantly, Xeno was not a boy like them, he was a man and he would certainly consider carefully the consequences and he didn't need them as allies.

"I can see them," Ryuusui informed him and when Senkuu turned to him, he indicated them with a quick nod of his chin. "I didn't think Xeno had such ridiculous hair though… his forehead is so high… maybe you should do something about his hair loss to get him to come over to our side… or you can leave it to me so I can drop it all off."

"Kukuku... you're pretty bloody today, Nanami Ryuusui," Senkuu replied, ignoring the rest of his words. He could understand that the grief of losing the ship had made their captain hard, but Senkuu couldn't think of the possibility that he was really capable of making those words deed.

Ryuusui said no more, he just accompanied him over the cliff.

\---

**"Senkuu..."**

The ropes that bound her tightly, ruining the skin of her arms, were the least of her thoughts.

Luna stared for a long time at the expanse of bushes, trees, leaves that surrounded the river and the ship where they had left her, unable to distinguish the boy who had stolen her heart.

Senkuu was very intelligent, handsome, determined and… she didn't know anything else, actually. Yet he was her man now and she would spend the rest of her days with him figuring it out and finding out what he liked and what he hated. She was his woman now, it was her job to make him happy.

She felt her cheeks flush and her heart beat faster and faster. Senkuu could be in danger, having gone up there without hesitation to fight. Senkuu was very intelligent, handsome, determined and… brave.

It was another thing she knew about him!

A few hasty steps did not distract her at all from imagining Senkuu looking at her in love upon his return. Only when Max called her, Luna winced.

" **Miss Luna! Miss Luna! You are fine,** what a relief! How dare they tie you up!"

Luna looked down.

Oh yes, she was tied up.

"Max! I'm scared!"

Max's eyes sparkled.

"I'll protect you!" He proudly declared, "You don't have to be afraid, Miss Luna, I'll take care of you!"

Luna didn't even have to pretend to cry. She shook her head, letting her backcombed hair fall over her eyes.

"Max, don't hate me but I... I'm engaged to someone else! And now he's in danger! I love him, I want to see him safe! Please help me!"

Luna was well aware of Max and Carlos' crush, they were the entourage her father had attached to her before the petrification, and she as a capable gal was also ready to use it to her advantage. The only one she wanted was Senkuu now.

"You got engaged to another..." Max repeated, looking down. He dropped to the ground, putting his hands through his hair. Luna thought he was going to cry but the boy soon raised his head and tried to smile.

"He loves you?" He asked her. "Does this boy treat you well? Like me or like Carlos?"

His questions made her stop breathing. The context in which they met had been very unusual, but Senkuu was not a bad person and would have kept his promise! He had also been married in the past and divorced, but she was different! The other woman was probably not suitable for him, she was ugly or perhaps being younger, Senkuu hadn't thought much about their union, choosing to undo it.

It wouldn't have happened with her because she was Luna, the smoother operator, the capable gal!

"Yes, yes. He loves me and I love him. He treats me well, he's a real gentleman!"

Max looked into her eyes.

"Okay... I accept it! But if he does not want you or dares to hurt you, I will face him and I will conquer you!" Max promised, sniffling as he began to untie her.

"Oh, thanks Max!" Luna squeaked. " **I need Francois to help me with the first aid** ," she explained as the butler had crawled to their side without anyone noticing. " **And also Master Kaseki to dissamble the fallen aircraft**!"

Max, after he was sure that Luna was free, went on to untie Francois who thanked him with an elegant nod.

"What's going on here?"

Max turned and saw Maya looking them down on with her hands - without any meat pieces between them, this time.

"Why did you untie the prisoners, Max?"

"What a prisoner! Luna is one of ours and..." he said, turning to Francois he didn't know.

"Francois, the handyman butler, at your service, madame!" They introduced themselves, kneeling and lowering their head. Gesture that Maya appreciated - against all odds - so much that she ignored them.

"Luna WAS one of ours, after our beloved Stanley shot that guy, she stayed here. On this ship. She didn't do anything to help us… not that we needed her help, of course."

"Madame, if you will, I might correct you," Francois spoke up. They waited for her to authorize them to speak. Maya looked at them with interest.

"So?"

Francois smiled without showing their teeth.

"Miss Luna did not go away, but she gathered information on Dr. Xeno's behalf and even though she noticed your arrival, she did not notify us. She has always been on your side."

Luna looked at Francois with wide eyes. They was lying for her! Maybe they was doing it because they knew she was Senkuu's girlfriend! What a good person this Francois was!

The woman called Maya didn't smile but she didn't react negatively to their statement either.

"Then why did he untie you?" She asked.

However Francois was ready.

"He wants me to serve you as I served my former master, madame. And I accepted. I don't want to die."

"Don't worry, butler, you won't die… Dr. Xeno and Stanley were clear. They don't want any more collateral damage."

Francois thanked themselves for having their hands hidden behind their back because those words had upset them much more than they should. They squeezed their fingers in their palm until they felt their nails through their gloves. Senkuu had not been collateral damage, the ship Ryuusui-sama had so caring designed had not been collateral damage. Their lives weren't just collateral damage.

However Francois remembered who they was. They raised their head and placed their right hand on their heart.

"My lady, your wish is my command."

\---

Anyone who broke into his castle would pay dearly for it. From the first to the last.

Xeno couldn't think of anything else. 

Their pathetic attempt would have led them to the gallows faster, and since Senkuu had survived, Stanley would have more fun finishing him off once and for all.

He pursed his lips and tried to visualize what would happen next. Simple, Stanley would find them and set him free. However, he would have given the choice to those who had kidnapped him, maybe they would have been useful... the fact that they had designed an underground tunnel to kidnap him, avoiding his defense measures, was already synonymous with cunning.

"What do you think about? I thought there was a beehive around here and instead it's you," the woman who had tied and carried him was talking to him.

"I beg your pardon?" He replied, frowning.

"You're vibrating like bees do when they return to their home," she replied.

Sure, the honeycomb was in some sense the bees' home, but it was an analogy that only a primary school kid - or even toddlers only - would find it smart to say out loud. There was no chance that this woman had been petrified, she was a descendant like that boy named Chrome. Xeno had also noticed this from her skimpy dress, identical to the fabric worn by the other scientist.

"People don't vibrate, miss. I suppose I accidentally made noises while I was thinking."

"If you're that smart, can't you think without making any sound?"

"Eh, but, I mean!" Xeno found himself gasping. He wasn't making any noise and he didn't even need to answer her.

He had been almost grateful that she had cleaned him of the dirt and blood on his face, but he couldn't forget that she had tied him up and carried him like trash for yards and yards. The man turned away from her and took a few steps back from the girl.

" **Now that Xeno-chan is not at the castle, there is no need to encode our messages... no one else understands Japanese**."

Xeno gave him a look full of disgust.

Stanley knew a few words of Japanese because Xeno had tried to involve him while he was learning it with no actual success. In fact, Stan had probably never listened to him carefully.

"We should tie him up more," another boy, dressed like Robin Hood muttered, picking up another rope. Xeno rolled his eyes. They could tie him as much as they wanted; they would pay for everything someday with interest.

**"As long as his hands are bound,** you don't need to waste ropes on him."

"Senkuu!" The little girl in the group raised her hand to point to him. "And Ryuusui!"

Even if that brat with a watermelon on her head hadn't announced their arrival, Xeno would have noticed from all of them that they had widened their bright eyes for the arrival of their leader, as if they were waiting for him, as if they had missed him.

Xeno's imperturbable expression was betrayed by a crooked smile. Even someone on his team would have looked at him that way when he returned… Stanley at least.

The other boy helped Senkuu to reach them. Xeno quickly noticed that he was much older than the child who shared his discoveries and experiments with him and that Stanley's blows had left obvious marks.

Xeno lifted his chin, waiting for the young man to face him but everyone around him drew Senkuu towards them.

Chrome was the first to run up to him. He didn't try to hug him, but went to his side.

"Senkuu-sensei!" He greeted him and for a moment Xeno wondered if Senkuu would have reacted with such devotion if he had seen him in real life when Senkuu was a child.

Kohaku instead reached out to ruffle his hair. "Senkuu!" She called him and the boy let himself be overwhelmed by her affection.

"Not even a bullet scratches you," one of the strongest warriors commented as Xeno saw him give Senkuu a respectful nod to which the other replied.

"SENKUUUUUUU!" Taiju, the boy Stanley and Xeno had briefly believed to be the scientific mind of the opposing group, yelled and threw himself on Senkuu, holding him in a bone-breaking hug. Someone chuckled at the embarrassment of the young scientist who gave him a couple of pats on the back to make him loosen his grip. Xeno was struck by the smile on Senkuu's face, although he was shouting to his friend to leave him alone. Taiju began to cry, Senkuu looked at him gently.

"You big idiot, don't whimper every time you see me!" He mumbled back, but his lips were drawn in a friendly smile.

"Senkuu-chan~ I..." The magician stammered as he saw Senkuu escape from Taiju's embrace. Gen hid behind the sleeves of his wide kimono without continuing his sentence.

Xeno saw Senkuu look at the other guy for a few seconds before passing him. Gesture that Gen didn't particularly like, but he quickly recovered his indifference mask, the same one he had used against Xeno.

"Senkuu! Suika was good and did everything she had to do."

Senkuu probably because he had found that little girl on his way, quickly touched her helmet, continuing to walk towards Xeno.

"I never thought from the first and last time I saw you in America that we were now here, that you wanted me dead."

They both knew each other's appearance, both had shared years of emails and interesting reflections, although Senkuu was still a minor at the time, a child. Xeno had to admit that he hadn't changed in the slightest, perhaps he had grown a few inches. Youth was the greatest treasure a person could possess.

"Nothing personal, Dr. Senkuu," he replied, looking him in the eye. He had felt some remorse after Stanley said he shot him and also he had used every second before when Stan had asked him if he was sure of his choice. After all, he and Senkuu weren't friends, they weren't a family, and his goal certainly came before any memory. Now that Senkuu had survived, however, he probably would have had to think more than he should. He had used science to put a stop to his death, he could have done it again or maybe even worse: he could have tried to take revenge. No one would have been the same after receiving bullets in the chest. "The obstacles you find in your path must be removed from the root."

"You bastard!" Ryuusui growled and, only thanks to Tsukasa reaching out to pull him back, he did not hit Xeno.

"I should perhaps say I'm sorry for not being dead, but I'm not," Senkuu replied, planting his hands on his waist. The wind, albeit light, pushed his robe against his chest until it adhered to it due to the fresh blood. The bandages were itching from sticking to his skin. "I guess it will sound strange to you but I don't hate you. I don't forget the years when I looked forward to your emails."

"What a silly kid! The past is of little use, if you want to survive," Xeno cut him off, barely moving his head to remove an invisible hair that seemed to have slipped into his face. "You would like to say that you are probably grateful to me, but I make very little of your gratitude. When you show me that you do not want to hinder the future of this world in which I am its undisputed dictator, perhaps I might even waste time considering our past and reserve you an exclusive role in my service."

"You talk so much for just being a prisoner, or am I wrong?" Ryuusui commented. Xeno noticed that Kohaku winced at his voice as if she wasn't used to hearing the boy so serious. 

The man ignored them. 

He was the prisoner but as such he was even more important than them. 

Stanley would not have been happy to find him injured and when Stanley was not happy, he would shoot.

He tried to mention it but another voice interrupted him.

"Kukuku… you speak as if you have won. Maybe we'll talk more about it **later** because now **we gotta get moving before sunset**."

Xeno slightly tilted his head to the side. The rope seemed to almost burn around his body. He spoke as if he had won because he had won.

Their ship had been taken and destroyed, Stan had received a clear order to shoot anyone who tried to stop him and certainly everyone who had gone with him had not been intimidated by a group of kids.

" **Later**?" He said with the same enthusiasm with which he had welcomed the news of having troglodytes like them in his own territory. " **Where will you go? You've no base to return to** ," he reminded them with a triumphant grimace. He stretched the muscles of his face so as not to start laughing. " **My people have already defeated your friends and taken over your ship,** " he summed up, feeling every word fill his mouth with pleasure. When he said the last sentence, Xeno turned slightly, looking at Senkuu and some behind him over his shoulder. " **YOU'VE LOST**."

He probably put too much emphasis on it because the little girl started shaking.

When Xeno turned around, however, he noticed that no one had made any comments yet or that their faces weren't the fear he expected to arouse. But they weren't all silent.

Strangled sounds caught everyone's attention as if a ferocious animal had approached. It was Ryuusui who had started laughing.

"A Nanami never goes back. **If anything, he goes on and we will go on! There is no other solution..."**

Xeno suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. There was no need to bother with his family name to say such an obvious thing.

Chrome was confused, Ukyo and Carlos were checking the map, Kohaku reached Xeno again, sensing they had to move.

Gen stepped forward after he had spent the last few minutes staring at Senkuu.

"Senkuu-chan~" he called, smiling at him. Senkuu looked down but waited for him to approach him.

Gen took a deep breath.

It had been too many days. Some of which, he had been sick, praying that Senkuu survived, hoping that for once Stanley was wrong even though he seemed to do everything perfect. "I'm glad to se-"

"SENKUU!"

Gen's lips didn't move anymore. He remembered that encrypted message that had reached his ears. 

**35, 11, 14…**

The voice humming those numbers belonged to that girl who looked terribly like Ginrou. In another situation, he would have laughed but at the moment he felt nothing except a strange feeling of emptiness. It was nothing, in fact.

**"You're safe! Of course you're safe! I knew it, you know! A smoother operator like me already knew you're too strong for dying in a dogfight like that!"**

The more Gen looked and heard that girl speak, the more the chasm that started from his heart widened to his bowels.

He looked up at Senkuu who did not hide a grimace of pain, the umpteenth since he had arrived there. Suddenly Gen didn't even care. Senkuu would accept the consequences of his own choices.

"Oh, maybe I should introduce myself to your sweetheart, right, Senkuu-chan? Your first girlfriend! You'll be thrilled!" He said, trying to look happy but his smile would never reach his eyes.

"Not at all." Senkuu replied this way and part of Gen wanted to believe him.

"Francois!"

Ryuusui calmed down - at least him - at the sight of the unusual group formed by Francois, Kaseki and the two that some of them did not know at all.

Xeno stared at Luna and Max with renewed contempt. Like Carlos, they had sided with the enemy and now seeing the ridiculous girl's reaction, he understood why. Luna had let herself be guided by lust and feelings while the other two were simply her slaves for the same reason. Not that Xeno needed the three of them. The only useful thing they could offer him was the platinum ring that he had already taken and kept for himself.

"You're making that strange noise again," Kohaku whispered in his ear and, both because he hadn't noticed her proximity and because of the warmth of her breath against his skin, Xeno winced.

"No…" he muttered, looking closely into her eyes. For a few seconds he forgot what he wanted to say. Ah, the sound of the hive. "Miss, never fall in love," he finally replied, gasping as he realized that the phrase might sound strange. "I mean, never let your feelings get the better of your reason or you'll end up like that girl there. She left an empire to follow her base instincts."

"Don't you like her? They sound like someone's wor-"

Xeno looked at her, arching an eyebrow. His broad forehead was completely wrinkle-free.

Kohaku sensed his answer and didn't even try to keep talking.

"I could have anyone. I've never called myself handsome, but women look at more than beauty and I've never had problems about this before," he explained without embarrassment. "I don't care about conquering or being conquered. I don't need these things as an ordinary human. Besides, I could never be with someone inferior to me."

"Always said men are a pain in the ass," Kohaku commented, leaving him with his eyes almost bulging out.

"A young lady should watch the language she uses," Xeno scolded her after a few minutes so that Kohaku turned back to him looking for a reason.

"Why?"

"Young ladies should always be polite, composed and graceful. Using certain terms is not elegant!" He reasoned, thinking that such a phrase would come out of Stanley's mouth without any problems. Kohaku dismissed Xeno's words with a bored look and a shrug.

Xeno stared at her for a moment, wondering why such a beautiful girl wasn't also a nice woman and then turned to look at the other guys in the group who were arranging to move.

"Francois! How did you manage to escape?" Ryuusui had approached his butler who immediately gave him a nod as a greeting.

"Luna-sama and Max-sama pretended to be our enemies and so did I. I have to ask Ryuusui-sama's forgiveness for pretending to betray him for a few minutes. I had to do it to be able to escape. We recovered Kaseki-sama and arrived here. You haven't moved much from the castle."

Ryuusui for the first time since the plane crash smiled sincerely.

"Marvelous as always, my dear Francois!" He commented and pulled them to him for a quick hug. "How is the situation on the ship?"

"Well, the ship..."

"I know."

"I'm sorry, Ryuusui-sama! Everyone gave their best to protect it. Matsukaze-sama and Mozu-sama were also injured in the fight with a gun."

Xeno brightened upon hearing this news.

"What a pity! Only two wounded?" he chuckled but a hand quickly tightened around his neck. He held his breath as he looked back at the green eyes he had been staring at few minutes before.

"No, there could be three wounded now, if you don't watch your tongue!" Kohaku growled at him and her fingers massaged the skin over his shirt collar. Xeno couldn't deny to himself that it was a strange, but quite pleasant feeling.

"Miss Kohaku, it almost sounds like an Edenic promise than a real threat," he commented in a lower voice.

Flirting for Xeno was quite natural, although no one thought it was possible. Exercising power over someone was never taken for granted, Xeno knew it very well. And for the power, he would do everything. He had to use every means available to buy time until Stanley's arrival, even his own body.

"How does this seem like a threat to you?"

A voice deeper than theirs came in and something pointed hit him right in the chest. Xeno took a couple of steps back once he was free of Kohaku's hand.

The point of a spear was about to pierce the fabric of his clothes. He looked up and met the face of the masked warrior.

He had made up his mind not to be frightened anymore, and although his heartbeat had increased so much that it rang in his ears like a drum, he shouldn't let it show.

"A loud and clear threat. If you don't want to die in excruciating pain at the hands of my most faithful subordinate, I advise you to drop your spear immediately, thank you," he articulated with thinly disguised disgust. 

Only when the tip was far from his chest, Xeno closed his eyes, granting himself a sigh of relief. 

Those kids would never kill him. He was the most important hostage and even though they had forgotten it, he was the only reason why they were still alive. However he had the feeling that if he didn't specify it, they would take too much freedom to torture him. Perhaps those kids were not so primitive as he had called them. 

Only to think about it, the headache came. Xeno then chose to ignore them. 

Stanley would come soon, after all if Luna and Max had managed to run away probably, the main force would be back soon at home. He turned to the castle that was still visible from his position. 

If the plane hadn't crashed to the ground as they brought him back, Stanley could have save him from the sky. But he didn't doubt that in one way or another, his Stanley would find him.

\---

**"Miss Luna! So good to see you!"**

Carlos, who until then had been a precious help to Ukyo and Chrome, as soon as he saw Luna, he began to cry tears of joy. He was very attached to the girl, and when Max approached him to tell him what Luna had told him about Senkuu, his tears became even more copious, but for a completely different reason.

"We will do anything to help her and to help her man, for their sake! If Miss Luna is happy, we are too! Max told him, but his sad eyes betrayed the optimism of his words. Carlos sighed. One deeper awareness made room in his heart. He drew Max to him in such a way that no one would hear him sharing his wisdom with him.

"Even if Miss Luna isn't single anymore, that doesn't mean she won't be again!" He confabulated. "We'll wait for her to get tired or for this guy to leave her and we'll go back to being the only ones for her."

Max adjusted his glasses over his nose.

"It makes sense..." he agreed and, smiling, he joined his arm to that of his accomplice and eternal rival in love.

However, although the two did not want to be heard, Ukyo witnessed the exchange of their promise and at his side, Gen wanted him to tell him every word of their exchange.

"Single, huh?" Gen repeated after the other boy finished his report. "I just got an idea," he said to himself, but he was overheard by Ukyo involuntarily. Gen's icy eyes, however, made him desist from asking him what his idea was. 

Everyone there had realized how cold Senkuu's reaction had been towards him and Gen, although he seemed weak, he was not at all.

If Gen had switched to the enemy side, it would have been more than catastrophic. Ukyo hoped Senkuu realized this before it was too late.


	2. From page 11 to page 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♤ I am slow, this ff is a mess, the chapter 168 is still the evil reincarnated.   
> Hope to finish in the next one before sunday. 
> 
> ◇ Thank you for reading! In this chapter there is a sentence in french, so if it is wrong, i'm so sorry, i don't know this language, sorry! Anything else will be answer in the next chapter and then probabily another one as the conclusion differently from the canon chapter ofc.

"Before you were so abruptly interrupted, Francois, what were you saying? How are the boys?"

Whoever was watching Francois at that moment didn't know if they was angry or if they found Xeno's taunting of their injured friends subtle. Everyone simply saw them lower their head out of respect for their master

"They are safe, the shots did not damage any vital organ. With the excuse of assisting them, I was able to move more easily, they were probably distracted from looting the ship," Francois paused to check Ryuusui's reaction but it did not come. "We moved what we needed to care for the injured who had been put on shore and Kaseki-sama pretended he needed medical attention... the rest is pretty predictable but I made sure someone knew we had escaped, so that buy time and cover our escape. "

"Great as always, Francois! Who?"

Francois avoided the gaze of Chrome who was reserving them so much admiration.

"Unfortunately... I only managed to communicate with one person who was closest and who could understand me quickly... and that was Magma-sama," they concluded.

Upon hearing that name, Xeno observed the disappointed expressions of the others, wondering why they were so dull. However, it could be a good sign for his men, if this Magma was incompetent.

The girl next to him snorted.

"Why when we're in trouble, is there always the least suitable person we have to rely on?"

When Kohaku noticed all the eyes on her, she looked at them in turn not understanding why they were staring at her.

"He doesn't shine for maturity, I admit, but Magma-chan might have some pleasant surprises in store for us," Gen intervened, coming out behind Francois. "After the incident on the southern island, he went straight thanks to Nikki-chan's surveillance!"

Xeno instantly ignored his battle fantasies. The southern island was probably the same one on which they found the petrification device and of which Gen had said very little. No one was correcting him and there were two options either they had agreed from the start with what to tell him or it was the truth. Now he had also mentioned an incident involving a man named Magma. Were the two things connected?

He opened his mouth to ask for more, but closed it quickly.

They would not have listened to a prisoner and above all they would not have been willing to answer his questions.

After seeing that spear up close, Xeno was accepting the fact that until Stanley came to rescue him, he was in no position to ask questions.

He bit his lip, looking down at his bound body.

Now that he had no other weapon aimed at and was sure that in a few hours he would be back within the walls of his castle, it was useless to ask questions. It would have been counterproductive at the moment to give those fools an excuse to torture him.

He would have more power once they surrendered.

They believed they had won, it was better for them to delude themselves for the moment that they had succeeded.

"Xeno-chan... do you have something to say?" Gen, who had not missed a single movement of the prisoner, drew his attention.

But Xeno had already thought about which consideration to voice aloud.

He looked up and stared with interest at Francois who, despite his behavior, waited after giving him a polite nod.

"J'espère que tu me pardonneras ma curiosité, mais d'après ta cadence, j'ai eu l'impression que tu es française," he uttered each word carefully, causing confused looks from most of the people who were listening. Only Ryuusui besides Francois nodded.

"Hey, but he changed his way of speaking! I don't think his people talked like that," Chrome analyzed, while a few meters away, Taiju, who had stayed with Senkuu, was making sure the boy was better. He had also involved Luna in the check-in.

Gen had noticed this already, as he had realized that Senkuu did not want to talk to him, and had decided to give him the time necessary to recover and so they could change the gauze before resuming their escape. Every second they passed could be the reason for their defeat, but Senkuu's health came first.

Gen wasn't the only one who had waited to get closer to those they loved, Max and Carlos had also stood aside to confabulate, exchanging ideas on what they should do to make sure Luna was happy.

"It's because it's French," Ryuusui explained as Francois replied in their native language to Xeno, who he wasn't making any effort to smile for the first time. He was genuinely involved in what they were saying. He hadn't spoken it for years now.

"And what are they saying now?" Kohaku asked, leaning forward to get a better look at him. Even not understanding his words, it was easy to see how Xeno's face had softened as he spoke that melodious language. Chrome, squinting, watched the lips of both move faster and faster, but the sounds - albeit some similar to Japanese - did not take the form he knew.

"Francois replied that he had guessed right and that he speaks excellent French, so Xeno is continuing to speak like this to show off."

When he finished his very brief summary, Xeno gave him a cold look.

"I don't need to show off to be the best," he said in French, looking him in the eye. Ryuusui looked back and used the same language too.

"If you really are the best, why did you let yourself be caught and tied up here? Is it why you like being humiliated by a woman, or I am wrong?"

Xeno gritted his teeth, but didn't have time to answer him because Kohaku, who had been watching them carefully, sensed that their words were no longer kind and grabbed the prisoner by the hips to make him turn.

"If you're tired, I can carry you now we have to move," she offered, but Ryuusui made a faint sound as if the offer Xeno had just received was the confirmation he was waiting for.

But Xeno smiled, trying not to scream, even though the girl was unaware of what Ryuusui had insinuated.

"Miss Kohaku, thank you, but I can walk by myself," he replied, straightening up and taking his first steps beyond her grasp. 

If he walked on his own, he might as well have slowed down the group and let Stan notice that his warrior would have to run to the castle by now.

Kohaku had limited herself to looking at him - Xeno was only a meter away - when she reached him.

"Senkuu..."

Xeno heard Kohaku call Senkuu softly even though they both knew he wouldn't hear her. This wasn't how each other orders were given, Xeno muttered in his head, at the moment they seemed to be on hiatus when they were on the run and had a few hours of daylight to make it happen. They were wasting time, but he wasn't going to point it out.

\---

Luna had waited for nothing but meet Senkuu's proud gaze. Even though they weren't alone and the bandages were making her dirty, she didn't care.

It would have been incredibly cool, if he had started looking at her instead of that grimace of pain he had on his face since she met him again. Maybe he would even smile and start stroking her chin, accepting her proposal... after all the worst was over, the wounds would close in no time and they would be engaged! What a blessing! She was finally going to have a smart boyfriend!

It would have been even more beautiful, if he had told her that she had been a good girl and she would have replied that it was only for him... maybe he would have kissed her!

No, she was dreaming too much! 

It would be good for her or for her heart!

Her cheeks burned as she imagined the boy approaching her. It would have been great!

She looked around.

There were too many people, a reserved boy like Senkuu would never have touched her at that juncture.

But what she was thinking! He would never do it anyway! He would need his time to love her and Luna would wait patiently. She had all her life to be with him!

Taiju had finished assisting her and was getting some water to clean up. Senkuu instead was observing Luna lost in her fantasies.

The boy looked around and stood up. 

" **And so you helped Francois and Kaseki to join us... kukuku...** thanks also for the bandage,  **job well done** ,  **Luna,** " he said, tearing her out of her daydream.

Not only the eyes but also the ears of other people had focused on the two, except those of Ukyo, who after passing Francois on their way to the portable laboratory to get some supplies, had returned to Gen.

The mentalist was looking at a point in front of him, letting the boy approach him. Ukyo would probably keep an eye on him for a while, worried about his reaction. However, Gen could not afford to give space to his emotions while a war was in progress. 

He forced his lips to curve into a sincere - or at least presentable - smile to convince the spying on him that everything was fine.

But it wasn't going well.

Everything since the trip was screaming at him that bad luck had begun to haunt him too: The poker game, the infiltration of the castle, days spent wondering how Senkuu was after he was shot and the first thing he heard was a stranger who claimed to be the girl of the man he had loved since the first day he met him. He felt the weight of his frustration on his shoulders, a weight that a simple sentence said by the right person could have lightened until it disappeared completely. But only if said by the person Gen liked.

He could not escape his fate: he was condemned to be alone at the end, to watch others love each other even if it hurt. His jealousy didn't take priority, their survival was more important than her love life.

"I know you heard me before... I won't do anything, if that's what worries you," he greeted Ukyo, but the boy just touched the brim of his hat. "They are a beautiful couple after all, Ginrou was cute when he was crossdressed, after all."

Ukyo looked briefly at Luna and Senkuu behind them and turned back to Gen.

"Did you ask him if he wants to be in a couple? I don't think in two weeks he threw all his beliefs for a girl... it wouldn't be like him..."

"Eh, but love changes you... then Senkuu is almost d-" he broke off. "Stanley-chan shot him," he corrected himself. "Maybe now he wants a family, to have children to teach them the periodic table and all those complicated words he knows..."

"Senkuu thinks you are very important, Gen," Ukyo said quickly. If he let him drown in those negative thoughts, Gen would never see the situation for what it was. A mentalist however good, he was not infallible. "Without you, he would never have survived since Tsukasa awakened you..."

"He would have gotten away with it and then he doesn't think I am important, but my job is."

Ukyo stared at him. Gen's strangled voice conveyed all his sadness to him. It was the first time he had talked about what he felt and the insecurities that bound him to Senkuu.

He smiled at him even though he knew it wasn't enough to make him feel his support. When he tried to remind him that their relationship was much stronger than those doubts, but Gen preceded him.

"Our prisoner doesn't want to give up or even regret making Senkuu-chan shoot. Stanley-chan will leave a trail of corpses behind him while he's looking for us. He's Xeno's man, he knows no bounds to find him..."

"If you managed to convince Xeno, we would have won."

Gen nodded.

"Yes, it's a pity that Xeno doesn't trust me. I lied to him more than once and even though his polygraph didn't understand that I was lying, he believed me not because of the result, but because he blindly believes in his science and his work. The machine was built by him, so it was infallible."

"So what's the plan?" He asked him. Gen looked at him, tilting his head to the side.

"I'm not that good, Ukyo-chan. I don't know..."

"I have the impression that actually you already have something in mind..."

"I've lost my talent for lying apparently… you are really brilliant, Ukyo-chan!" He complimented. "And sincere. Everyone would trust you, Ukyo-chan..."

"Even Xeno..." Ukyo confirmed, realizing what Gen wanted.

"Victory can be achieved in different ways, you know, Ukyo-chan?" He began. "After all, there are things that only you know, that you never wanted to share with us..."

There was no trace of accusation in his voice. Gen had no doubts about his behavior, but only about how many times he had really expressed his thoughts.

Ukyo thought before speaking and that said phrase to feel the territory had served as a confirmation of how Gen was always alert and ready to use situations to his advantage. What a mentalist was used to, what allowed him to survive in a world dominated by strength.

Once again he was proving to him that in the hands of the enemy, it would be a double-edged sword.

Meanwhile, Gen had stood still waiting for his answer. He would have given a seductive or playful look - depending on their personalities - to another person, but the eyes that were looking at Ukyo were sincere.

"I got the impression that we are treating Xeno as if he were ignorant, as if he were Ibara. We are treating him as if he were a monster who does not know our language, but Xeno is basically human like us and in some cases even more intelligent than most of our group. We can talk to him, leverage on his emotions that he will certainly feel." 

Ukyo nodded. 

He preferred to resort to weapons only in case of need, not before and the lack of confrontation was perhaps the thing that unnerved him the most. Certainly Xeno would have refused, but now he was in no condition to do so and would probably have listened to them too.

"I could tell you something that could work in our case, hoping that you feel comfortable opening your heart to our enemy... if Senkuu-chan didn't have a better idea, of course!"

\---

" **And so you helped Francois and Kaseki to join us... kukuku...** thanks also for the bandage,  **job well done** ,  **Luna** ."

Luna hadn't believed her ears!

The voice she heard was from the real Senkuu and he said the words she thought about… not all but some! She looked at him as if he were enveloped in a bright white light, so close but at the same time away from her.

"You're not that reserved, after all..." she stammered, realizing too late that he'd heard her. However, Senkuu had other much more pressing problems to deal with.

"We have to move fast," he reminded the group that he wasn't going to expand any further. "We have a few hours of daylight left now and we have a lot of meters to gain to have a real advantage."

The group had heard what Senkuu had told Xeno, but they didn't know any other details. He had the full attention of everyone now.

"We will move south-west, after we have cleared our tracks," Senkuu illustrated. "If we had a ship or a means of crossing the river it would be easier," he explained. "But we only have to rely on our own legs. Let's watch our backs and we're ready to fight... at worst."

Senkuu stopped whoever was on their way to the portable laboratory.

"No, it would be too conspicuous, we have to leave it here," he said. "The important thing is to be very careful not to be visible."

Chrome groaned in response, but couldn't help but ask the question everyone was waiting for.

"So we're headed... to the ship?"

"Kukuku... exactly!"

Tsukasa looked first at Senkuu and then at Hyoga who had not yet reacted.

**"They'll never expect us to return right after that great escape,"** Ukyo supported Senkuu's proposal, thinking they would also have time to implement Gen's idea. Even without communicating with each other, once again it was the two of them having joined forces to save everyone.

"Tonight the forest will host us. We must approach the remains of the ship and we have no other choice," Senkuu continued, walking alongside Taiju so he could lean on him in case of need. "For some of us it will be like just awakened from the stone, a return to the origins."

Great, the forest. 

Xeno snorted.

So if they weren't killed by Stanley, they would have been mauled by some wild animal. Possibility that would also have pleased him, were it not that he would have risked dying too.

Kohaku looked at him, he noticed her.

"In the forest there are many dangerous animals, I hope dr. Senkuu doesn't regret sending us to perish there," he replied before she could ask him anything.

"Ah! If that worries you, no problem! We warriors will take care to fight them," she reassured him, or at least she tried. "Tsukasa killed five lions with his bare hands as soon as he woke up from the stone."

"Sorry, what?" He stammered, blinking. 

The revelation about the warrior who had aimed the sword at him had not had the desired effect. The likelihood of being mauled was perhaps to be preferred over beastman.

"I am the one with the best eyesight here, I quickly notice if there is something threatening you," Kohaku added with a big smile and turning just to show him the daggers tied to the shield on her back. She probably hadn't done it maliciously or deliberately, but Xeno would have called her movement elegant.

She must have been around 20, even though all of Senkuu's people were not supposed to be older than him, Xeno could never understand what their characteristics were. He could have known them only by asking, but he didn't really care. 

By tomorrow, Stanley would probably kill anyone who resisted. Regardless of their age or ability.

However, looking at the beastman and the spearman, Xeno considered that he had been lucky to have come under Kohaku's guard.

"I'm…" he broke off before saying something equivocal.

"What?"

"... calmer now," he concluded, looking down. "Thank you," he muttered and hoped she hadn't actually heard him.

The sound of the footsteps of the others moving away drowned those of Ryuusui, who had reached Kohaku and Xeno to test his theory. 

Senkuu organized the division of the row.

More than one person noticed that he was struggling to talk and walk together. Gen approached him to check on him but Luna preceded the mentalist.

Ahead - as Senkuu was explaining - would be the people who didn't fight and only someone stronger like Kohaku who had to control Xeno and Taiju who would protect his childhood friend. In the middle of the line there would be other people like Francois, Luna, Suika and eventually someone who would have to clear the tracks or defend the group from a Stanley attack or any other type of attack. They were still in an unfamiliar territory and even Ukyo who, shooting an arrow, had to warn them in case of problems.

Luna had not heard anything after noticing that Senkuu had said her name too far from his own. He was certainly wrong. She was the capable gal and she would do anything to be close to him.

"Your name is Luna, right? I am Gen, nice to meet you!"

He turned to a two-toned boy who remembered being criticized more than once by Stanley.

He was the one who had allied himself with Xeno, but he was there so maybe he had pretended to betray them, working as a spy... a smart move, she had to admit, but she was smarter as a spy!

"Yes…"

"What a lovely name! Then I think it's a sign of fate, you know?"

Fate?

"What?" She asked, but bit her tongue quickly. "I meant... why is it a sign of fate? Not that I haven't noticed..."

Judging people was the thing Gen did as carefully as possible, but that little girl wasn't that hard to understand. 

And to manipulate.

"Ah, Luna-chan!" He sighed, "Senkuu loves the moon since he was a child, it would be a sign of fate..."

An embarrassing cliché, actually.

"... if you and him ended up getting married!"

"Mar-mar-mar-married?!" She squawked as her ears turned red. She said she got engaged for a good omen but now it could come true.

"Yes, it's a pity that..."

"Mentalist!" Senkuu finally called him. Gen nearly smiled. Finally someone calling him that after spending those days pretending to be just an ordinary magician.

"Senkuu-chan!~" He answered and without even saying goodbye to Luna, he reached the boy, his Senkuu-chan.

\---

"Mentalist!"

Xeno was not looking at the group that was approaching, but as soon as he heard that word he turned to look at who Dr. Senkuu had called that way. When Gen approached the other guy, Xeno understood.

He was much more than just a magician even though he hadn't had the full opportunity to demonstrate his potential.

Mentalism was also a form of science, and anything that could come close to the scientific world, was well accepted by Xeno. However, Mister Gen had lied and omitted too many things to be ignored when they settled the scores.

The scene was obscured by Ryuusui who stood in front of him. He looked at Xeno who stared at him back, even though he preferred to ignore it.

Not only a genius might understand that of all the one who hated him most was Ryuusui... probably for his stupid ship.

"Didn't you build a ship? You had ours destroyed too lightly," he inquired.

Here we go.

Xeno shrugged.

He was monothematic.

"You did it almost as if you didn't need to have a boat..." he heard him say. Xeno could not help but snort.

He had thought of keeping quiet, but he didn't want him to think he was afraid to face him.

He wasn't even armed.

"What am I supposed to do with a ship?" He asked in turn, wrinkling his nose. "And even if I had something, I'm a prisoner, not your friend! Why should I favor your escape, troglodytes?"

Xeno expected Ryuusui to respond with something annoying or to make him look closely at the other boy's spear or worse to make him end up like one of those poor lions, however Ryuusui just called his butler with a wave of his hand.

"Francois, lend me your foulard, please."

Francois did as he said without hesitation and passed it to their master. Ryuusui spread out the fabric of the handkerchief and approached the prisoner's face.

"No!" Xeno tried to protest, sensing what he wanted to do. He took a couple of steps back, but Ryuusui pinned him against a tree and muzzled him.

Kohaku looked at them unable to say anything. Ever since he arrived, Ryuusui was not as usual. Xeno was the only one who made him lose his usual calm.

"Would you have preferred her to have thought of it or am I wrong?" Ryuusui whispered into Xeno's ear before walking away, making him even more indignant. "If only I could, if only your death wasn't so avoidable..."

Xeno could not say anything, he could not say anything. He just looked at him with wide eyes, until he felt his face hurt.

"Ryuusui?" Kohaku tried to calm him down but he avoided her.

"Carry him, if you make him walk, he'll delay us," he explained. "If only I could, if only your death wasn't so avoidable ..."

  
  


Xeno could not say anything, he could not say anything. He just looked at him with wide eyes, until he felt his face hurt.

  
  


"Ryuusui?" Kohaku tried to calm him down but he avoided her.

"Carry him, if you make him walk, he'll delay us," he explained. "The foulard was to prevent him from screaming in case he spots someone to warn him."

Xeno was impressed even though the knot of the fabric weighed on the back of his neck.

Ryuusui was right, but he hadn't thought about the possibility of screaming and now it wouldn't be possible.

The level of science of the two empires was not even but those guys were not to be underestimated... and it bothered him to admit it, but if there was a small chance that Stanley would lose to them it was because of their downplaying them.

They hadn't tried to get him to give up yet. Certainly they would do so soon and when the time was right, Xeno would think of something - anything - to win the battle.


	3. Page 15 and 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update a few minutes before the new official chapter (i'm always later but at least the different elemente there are here already. I wanted to write the part of Ukyo who talk about Medusa but i didn't make it on time)

Ever since the front door closed behind him, Stanley had felt that something was wrong. The men were scattered around the corridors of the castle, and although one in particular had seen their return and returned to warn him, Xeno had not yet reached him.

Only he had returned to the castle. 

He had left Maya and the others at the ship to watch over the prisoners even though in the confusion he had not identified the same samurai he had seen upon their arrival.

His instincts were never wrong and at the moment he was yelling that Xeno was in danger… even though he had left some of the scariest men on their team with him.

"It's unloaded," he said to the first person who came near him and handed over his rifle, "load it up and pick up more bullets that there aren't ever enough."

"Captain Snyder..."

Stan heard himself called but didn't want to waste time. He looked over the stairs hoping Xeno would hurry to catch up with him. However he turned around.

"Did Xeno fall asleep?" He asked, letting the ash fall at his feet. "He must have been here already."

"Captain, we couldn't do anything," the man in front of him replied. Stanley took the cigarette out of his mouth, his jaw twitching in nervousness.

"Do anything for what?" He replied, keeping his eyes fixed on his interlocutor.

"A group of primitives kidnapped Dr. Xeno and they disappeared through an underground tunnel. We couldn't follow them bec..."

"SHUT UP, NOW!"

Even if he assimilated what he was saying, Stanley felt distant from his words. It was not possible. It wasn't possible at all. Their plan was perfect, they couldn't have gotten through their security measures with a stupid tunnel. There were fewer people than usual but they were still kids.

And they had managed to kidnap their leader.

"Underground tunnel?" He repeated, growling. "They kidnapped Xeno," he continued. He bit his cigarette and spat the filter on the floor. "SOME KIDS KIDNAP THE PERSON YOU WERE TO PROTECT? YOUR FUCKING CHIEF?"

Stanley's ferocious voice boomed through the entire fortress. He zipped his shirt down to his chest and ran a hand through his hair.

"How long has it been? Has anyone at least thought of following them?"

Faced with his question, no one dared to speak.

"How fucking useless you are!" He thundered. "How is it possible that most of you were soldiers? You are really worthless! ALL OF YOU!"

He looked at them waiting for them to decide to answer him.

"Stanley, we did our best-"

"It was clearly not enough!" Stan interrupted Brody who was joining him. "You haven't thought of doing anything either, apparently, old man."

"Captain, you need to take a couple of deep breaths and calm down. Your dear Xeno will certainly not be killed."

Stan closed his lips in a flat line in order not to do what he had told him.

He was not afraid of anyone, least of all Brody, who Xeno held in high regard and in fact Stan himself was more than grateful. Without Brody they would have had more difficulty building weapons, now their strong point.

Stanley looked at him.

When he got angry, he lost sight of what he should do. He could think of nothing but Xeno in danger.

However, Brody was right. 

Killing the prisoner, whom they had taken so much care to capture, would not have been a sensible move for anyone. Xeno was still alive and he would see him again alive.

"Grab as many weapons as possible and some sound and flash bombs. In case you find Xeno before me, you will mark your location. Everyone will take a different path clearly," Stanley ordered, recovering his composure. He looked out the window. The sun had set, certainly they will have found a way to take advantage of the dark hours even if they must have been nearby. They had no means, they could not have strayed so far and that territory was his, not theirs. "So we could cover more areas. We won't stop until we find them. AND. KILL. THEM. ALL."

"Listen, boy. We intercepted their communications before, but they were talking in Japanese."

Stanley's eyes widened. 

They had been able to touch the enemy communications channel and had not tried to threaten them.

He forced himself to calm down but his right eye trembled with anger. The veins on his neck throbbed until it hurt. He pursed his lips even more so as not to explode. However, if they had used the radio, he could hear them even now and vice versa.

"Get ready," he growled. "And bring me as many weapons as possible. Tonight we go hunting."

All the men present started running to the warehouse, freeing the entrance. 

Stanley's pale eyes had darkened, animated by the worst intentions.

Brody, although he was wearing sunglasses, the worried expression was evident on his face.

"I want to leave a message for the brats," Stanley smirked. "So they'll regret playing war against me."

\---

"Mentalist!"

"Senkuu-chan!~"

Senkuu and Gen had stepped aside to let the others pass, all headed for the forest. Gen looked at the boy as if he didn't believe he was still alive.

Stanley had told him he had killed him and Xeno had laughed with satisfaction.

However, they soon told him through the hidden earring that Senkuu was still alive.

At that moment, Gen was breathing again.

"Senkuu?"

"Go ahead, I can walk," Senkuu replied to Taiju as he approached Gen. "In case he helps me."

They were two meters away from the others - even though Tsukasa didn't move right away, confused by the previous arrangements - and now they had plenty of time to talk.

There were too many phrases in the mentalist's mind that wanted to be said, some more irritating than others.

He had no right to tell him about his feelings now that he was in that condition. If he had wanted that girl, he would have accepted his decision with a smile. 

But then why did Gen want to cry? Why was the nervousness of the last few weeks weighing on his heart?

"Senkuu-chan, congratulations!" Finally he spoke. Gen would have preferred to bite his tongue instead of talking about Luna but apparently part of him disagreed.

Senkuu looked at him and made a strange noise with his teeth. He put a finger in his ear and started walking.

"How are you, Senkuu-chan?" He asked him. This was what he wanted to request him. Not Luna, not Xeno, not the rest of the world. Gen only cared about Senkuu and in the past few days, this thought had monopolized his attention.

"I'm not dead... I guess that's a great thing."

Gen smiled for a moment and looked down at her kimono sleeves. If Senkuu died, he didn't even dare to imagine how he would feel and how the whole of humanity would be condemned to the absolute reign of Xeno.

"How would we do it without our Senkuu-chan!~" He said but his voice was not as light as usual.

"Gen, only you could have managed to infiltrate the enemy base. I hope you don't mind that I copied your seduction technique to get Luna to talk."

Hearing the girl's name spoken by Senkuu hurt him more than he expected. It was absurd and he couldn't think straight now.

"We should move forward in the group. You said so, after all."

Senkuu nodded. 

It wasn't like him to feel uncomfortable, avoiding Gen and once so close that their shoulders were rubbing from time to time as they walked. Yet that was what he found himself doing. He hadn't expected to survive the plane crash and see Luna who had definitely changed sides.

"What's your plan?" He asked to keep him close and to find out why he and Ukyo were talking. Whatever it was, Ukyo was certainly part of it, and Senkuu was 100,000,000,000% sure of it.

"Tell me yours first. You're still the head village here, you have priority."

Gen's response did not reassure him.

"We'll be spending the night in the forest, even if the idea is to catch up with the ship as soon as security is weakened. Besides, Stanley won't be there forever, he certainly had to go back to the castle to report. But **the** **goal is diplomacy**. If only we find someone who doesn't want war, and who isn't a gun nut like Stanley, we could get him to strike a deal with us."

Gen smiled.

"Of course, since you fell in love you can't think straight, Senkuu-chan!" He retorted, raising her voice so the girl who had appeared and tried to walk casually in front of them and who happened to be Luna - with particularly pricked ears - could accidentally hear them.

Luna turned, but as soon as she met Gen's eyes, she looked forward again.

"I am also for diplomacy. Xeno and his empire are militarily and scientifically stronger... sorry Senkuu-chan, but it's the truth. They are adults and, although you will certainly grow up. For the moment, accepting it is the first step to overcome it..."

It was ironic that Gen really couldn't do the same for something less important.

"I'm aware of that," Senkuu mused. "However..."

"My plan is much simpler, but I need some time to implement it. For example, I already know who to convince... who to convince him and what to reveal..."

Senkuu looked straight ahead. For a split second, his eyes found Luna's thick blonde hair and he looked away.

"Who?"

Gen pursed his lips in an amused grimace. He nodded his chin briefly to Luna and Senkuu frowned, confused.

"Guess… if you can guess I'll be your best man when you get married to pretty Luna!" Gen whispered and from the girl's gasp he guessed that she was still listening to them.

Senkuu, who would have preferred to answer him, found that he was not safe either for him or for the good of their plan.

"Ah… then I avoid guessing," he replied. "Mentalist, give me a hand to get there."

Senkuu changed the subject before Luna (if she understood what he had said) could protest and he clung to the shoulder of Gen who couldn't be happy that Senkuu was touching him for force majeure and not for what he wanted.

Probably it would have been enough for Luna, but he was not like her.

He would have preferred to see Senkuu whole and uninjured even if it meant disappearing from his life. However, he didn't need those sad thoughts. If his - or rather their - plan worked, they could return to the ship and accomplish everything they set out to do.

Senkuu would get the only moon of his life and he would toast his success.

As always.

\---

Xeno had never thought that a slow pace was more difficult to bear than a fast one. He looked up at the path while he was in midair, supported by Kohaku with one hand.

He couldn't ask himself how she was capable of it and his upset stomach didn't allow him to get distracted. Maybe he'd better close his eyes but if Stanley appeared before him, he had to see him.

The scarf in his mouth bothered him, now it was soaked in his saliva. It was Ryuusui's will to humiliate him even more, make him suffer.

He had the impression that the rope had tightened even more, leaving grooves in his arms and side.

He almost prayed that Kohaku would start running to end the feeling that was making him nauseous.

Still, the scarf was what kept him from begging, which would hurt him even more than his own humiliation. Begging an enemy to let him walk, to take that rag out of his mouth was something they wanted to hear. Ryuusui was waiting to gloat at his pain but Xeno wouldn't allow it. At the moment, only his dignity remained.

He closed his eyes and not seeing the blades of grass disappear from his visual frame with each step of Kohaku just improved the situation.

In addition to Kohaku's footsteps, recognizable by her heavy sandals, there were others closer probably those of Ryuusui and Francois. They had started moving and entering the forest, headed for the ship. 

Stanley had returned to the castle but as soon as he noticed his absence he probably went out in search of him. He wanted, he wanted Stanley to run to him, stop them and kill them. All.

Although some might be more useful in his kingdom than dead. But would they really give up if even cornered? After being so happy to see their leader again?

**"Will we attack Stanley's group by water?"**

Kohaku's voice, which was closest to him, rang out to his guts. That girl wanted to fight Stanley despite hearing he shot two people, even knowing he was superior to them.

He hoped she didn't understand that Stanley had pulled the trigger against her friends or if not, Xeno didn't know if she was brave or stupid.

"Confronting Stanley is what I've been waiting for since he greeted us on the plane. However I'll have to wait longer," Ryuusui replied and Xeno would have liked to reply that he would have waited longer, that he should have considered their confrontation more calmly because when he arrived, it would be the last thing he did. "Tonight we'll take turns. You stay with this old pervert, we'll take care of the rest later."

Xeno growled even as the foulard absorbed much of the noise, leaving only the fabric against his tongue.

Ryuusui would be the first one Xeno would make Stanley to kill. If Ryuusui had been on the ship at the time of the bomb, he would have blown up at that moment and yet he was still there alive.

"Ryuusui-sama."

Xeno heard Francois' voice intervene.

"Yes?"

He could hear nothing but a few steps increasing. 

Someone was approaching.

"Xeno!"

Another voice broke the silence of the entire forest isolated by the tall canopy of the trees around them. It was not just any rumor, however.

"Xeno!"

Xeno tried to move his arms. 

Stanley's voice was not a hallucination. He was really Stanley...

Kohaku swiveled her arm and Xeno nearly slammed into a log.

"What?"

"Shh!"

"Stan!" Xeno screamed or rather tried to, but in reality the scarf only made a jointless rattle come out of his mouth. It was only four letters but no one would hear them.

He tried to move his arms again but the rope was too tight, he couldn't do anything else, he couldn't escape Kohaku's grip.

He waved his legs and hit the air with his forehead, but the girl first tried to leave him in the same position then held him firmly against her body, turning him over to grab him by the thighs. She squeezed him to keep him still from moving again, to make sure the scarf didn't slip out of his mouth.

It was the first time since he was tied up that Xeno had been rebelling.

Ryuusui grabbed him by the hair and with wide eyes warned him to stay still. For a second, just a second, Xeno forgot their fight, showing his weariness and fear.

Ryuusui didn't smile. 

Indeed Xeno felt that his fingers became less firm in his hair.

"Shhh," he told him and Xeno slumped against Kohaku.

"Stan," Xeno whispered and hoped that even if it was impossible, his best friend had heard him.


	4. Page 16.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the waiting, I'll update soon, i swear! We are the climax in the following two chapters or maybe one, I'll answer to all questions like what will Ukyo say? Why is Ryuusui so angry? What will Xeno and Stanley do?

"Xeno! Xeno!"

Ukyo held the radio that was vibrating with the new communication. With his eyes he sought the support of someone close to him and found Max who jumped at the sound of Stanley's voice.

"Can he hear us?" He asked him, but Ukyo shook his head. He knelt on the ground and let the other man finish screaming.

Tsukasa and Hyoga went back to retrieve Senkuu without anyone urging them to do that. They didn't know what the head village had in mind. Any move could compromise his plan.

Ukyo refrained from covering his own ears which throbbed from that frighteningly loud angry voice. If he continued, it wouldn't just hurt him. Stanley could also have used that diversion to find them. The forest was noisy for its fauna, but now that some diurnal animals would be silent to sleep, the night would be quieter and a voice over the radio would also be clearer.

Ukyo looked up as Ryuusui arrived.

"We have to answer," he told him. "For a moment I thought he was already here, that he had found us," he added with a broad smile. "Let's hear what he wants to tell us."

Ryuusui tried to raise the lever to answer him, but Senkuu came running to stop him.

Their eyes met and Ryuusui desisted as even speechless Senkuu had told him he had to manage their conversation alone. He stood up to make room for him.

Gen, who had never left Senkuu's side, knelt beside him, putting a hand on Senkuu's chest to check if the gauze was still dry, but luckily the boy was fine. Then he watched Xeno and put his own hands to his ears, staring at Ukyo and then pointing at the other scientist with his chin.

Ukyo understood and stood up, reaching Kohaku and Xeno to tell the girl not to let him hear their conversation.

Still agitated, Xeno tried to resist, but the girl picked him up and ran farther, disappearing into the trees.

Senkuu, who hadn't missed a single movement, once he was sure Xeno was away, took the microphone and cleared his throat.

"Stanley, you're screaming like a crow, be more elegant," he muttered, sticking a finger in his ear and the others who were watching him blinked. 

It was like Senkuu to begin like that even if it wasn't a wise move to provoke a sniper who already hated them for kidnapping his chief.

Senkuu's words were accepted with an irritated gasp.

_"And I swear to you: that those who would harm Xeno, they will die screaming!"_

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry your boyfriend is fine for now," Senkuu replied, changing position to sit on the ground. His knees creaked with movement. "Stanley, I don't know if you remember me, but I am the one you tried to kill but you failed."

"Senkuu Ishigami?" 

For a moment his voice seemed to be surprised and even admired, but the pilot was actually unperturbed. 

"It means that next time I will shoot you twice to be sure and I will not leave until you are immersed in a pool of your blood."

Whatever Senkuu wanted to achieve, it almost seemed as if the memory of his failure was actually going to drive Stanley to amend it once and for all.

"If you want to play war, go ahead, but _I'm no ordinary man_ ," he replied, _"I will take what is mine, with fire and blood I will take_ Xeno home!" He exclaimed but his sentence ended with a loud cough, ruining his threat. "I could tell you I'm going to kill 10 people every hour, if you don't go back," he began, causing Suika to shiver a few meters away from the radio. Stanley's voice was perhaps even higher than before. "But I don't want to wait. Run wherever you want, I'll find you and unload all the bullets I have in your body."

Senkuu's hands trembled, almost letting go of the grip around the microphone. Then he arranged both hands to squeeze it better and retort.

"Kukuku, sure, then look for us, if you like. It will be a fun night..."

"For me for sure... I might think about hanging your head in the living room..."

"If I were you, I'd be more careful!"

Gen's voice interrupted Senkuu's and Stanley's ones.

"Ah, the magician from snatch. Another one who will die tonight."

The mentalist didn't let himself down. His hand found Senkuu's even though they didn't look at each other.

It wasn't the first time their life was in danger, but Stanley made him particularly afraid.

"We'll use Xeno-chan as a human shield, if you want to shoot us!" Gen threatened him firmly all at once, taking a deep breath at the end.

"Another lie, as if a wuss like you could do it. You're too weak to do something like that. You don't have the balls!" Stanley spat, avoiding focusing too much on his words. Thanks to his own experience, Stanley knew that in war everything was allowed and it might change people too. The image of accidentally shooting Xeno was something he preferred not to have in front of his eyes. "You're a fucking weathercock, a traitor willing to sell anything to save his own life. I told Xeno I had to kill you weeks ago, and I'll do it tonight."

"I'll look forward to that moment, Stanley-chan, meanwhile we're the winners here," Gen said and lowered the lever before he could answer him. Then he helped Senkuu up and turned to Max. "Arrange the radio and resume the positions in the line. Walk quickly, we have a few minutes before he makes his threats become true," he paused to raise Senkuu's arm around his neck. "Stanley is already scary without weapons, but I wouldn't want to find him armed and furious in front of me."

Senkuu looked at him but did not point out that he could walk without his help. He clung to him and they began to move.

\---

As soon as Xeno put his feet on the ground, he opened his eyes. He was wrong. The fast pace also put a strain on his stomach.

Stanley hadn't arrived yet and Xeno didn't know anything else because after Kohaku grabbed him and carried him a few meters further, he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Confused and disappointed, he could not help but wait for his arrival, hoping to buy time for him.

Knowing Stanley, however, Xeno could guess what he might have said to Senkuu and the others and it was nothing that would improve the situation. He had probably threatened - cursing - to kill them. Xeno was not afraid. He was going to get the better of them, he was talking about Stanley after all.

If he set a goal, he reached it without stopping until he had achieved it. It was one of the things he most admired about him.

Kohaku, unlike what Ryuusui had told her, let Xeno walk and took the scarf from his mouth. She threw it on the ground and wiped his lips, without giving reasons for her behavior.

Xeno's eyes widened in surprise.

He hadn't expected any of the things the girl had done, but before he spoke, he took a deep breath.

"If you try to scream, I'll cut your throat," Kohaku warned him, pulling out one of her daggers in one move, so fast that Xeno didn't realize it until he found it pointed at his tie. The deja vu feeling of having pointed a blade at him continued.

It was the third time it had happened that day and Xeno had the impression that it wouldn't be the last one. 

"Don't think I took that cloth off your mouth to please you," she told him, lowering her weapon as her eyes continued to be fixed on the man she was guarding.

Xeno didn't answer, continuing to look at her, not her weapon. He didn't know which of the two was more dangerous at the moment, but he had chosen whom he could convince.

A girl's heart could be corrupted in more ways, and a man like Xeno knew them all.

"I would never do that, Miss Kohaku," he replied. "I care about my life... and I thank you."

"I didn't do it for you!" Kohaku repeated, turning the knife in her hands to grab the hilt better.

Xeno couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and lean towards her. His shoes crushed leaves on the ground, making more noise than he expected.

"You are different from the others here, I noticed it already from the way you watch me. Unlike the other one, you didn't hurt me."

"I don't enjoy torturing people, even if you tried to kill Senkuu."

Kohaku crossed her arms, snorting and turning away from him. It was only a moment, but Xeno took advantage of it. Although tied up, he moved closer to her until his chest touched her back.

"I know, I did it. I explained to Dr. Chrome why," he whispered against her ear. The girl stiffened but did not move. Xeno looked down. Her hand was still stretched around the dagger. It was a bad sign, Xeno's goal was to have her lay it down and take her to his side. After all, it was survival instinct to join the strongest, and he was.

He wanted a girl like Kohaku in his empire, even in a different context. She was a descendant of the survivors, she hadn't seen the world Xeno wanted to change and could have shaped it as he pleased, thanks to her ignorance. By convincing her, he could also earn the trust of Chrome who seemed as interested in science as he was.

The survivors, if they had managed to exist even after 3700 years, it meant that they had reproduced, organized in tribes, if not in entire villages. There were other people on that ship sharing their blood, they had to have a large family, other brothers or sisters, parents, or anyway with Kohaku on his side, 

Xeno would have an extra key to get the rest of their group away from Senkuu. 

She also looked less airhead than Luna, a very important detail, especially if she was as good at fighting as she had so much claimed before.

Xeno liked useful but at the same time manipulable people.

"Whatever your motive was, Senkuu is alive and we will do everything possible to free humanity from the stone with the help of science," she replied. "Even if you and anyone else will hinder us with violence."

Xeno narrowed his eyes. He had to think about what to tell her. He hadn't thought she'd rather not even listen to what he had prepared to persuade her. He had to exploit why she followed Senkuu, convince her that it would be better if she followed him now.

He leaned over her. 

His chin touched the bare shoulder of the girl who flinched at the contact. Kohaku was shorter than him, it was not difficult to touch her. Yet the knowledge that if he had had his hands free at that moment, he would have already seduced her, burned in his chest.

Even though she couldn't see him, Xeno gave her a winsome smile.

"Do you think I don't reflect about it, Miss Kohaku?" he whispered against her ear in the hoarsest voice he was capable of, "to the world that petrification took us away? You're lucky you didn't experience it. Dr. Senkuu was too young to have known the corrupt world of work, of adults, which placed science second, third or even fourth for empty and worthless words. He will have told you only good things worth recovering, I guess. I'm sorry, but - unlike him- I can't lie to you. I've seen brilliant men give up their dreams because of violent people, people who never received an education, strong only thanks to their muscles."

He sighed, making sure his breath hit her earlobe and neck.

"There is no justice in this world if you leave everything as it is, my dear. I saw an opportunity in petrification. The ability to organize the world so that no one would be trampled on anymore."

He did not know the context in which the girl had lived, he had to be based only on what he could imagine. Kohaku and Chrome's clothes were very primitive, they both had rope on them, probably a hallmark of their tribe?

He couldn't waste time considering each variable especially since he had no scientific background to rely on. He didn't even know what Senkuu had taught them, what he had used to persuade them, but he felt he had to insist.

Kohaku was listening to him and her grip around the dagger had just relaxed. Had he come close to the truth?

If Senkuu had described only the beautiful things that humanity had done, it was up to him to talk about the negative ones so as to shake her and make her angry with those who had kept the truth from her. 

According to genetics, women were more empathetic and even if their maternal instincts were activated during gestation, he could hope that the girl in front of him was more sensitive on these topics... Xeno had to use every information at his disposal even if it came only from stereotypes, research and everything that the old society he knew had bequeathed to him.

"People were starving to death before petrifaction. There were those who accumulated wealth even at the expense of those who had nothing. Women were set aside, they were denied rights that men had instead from birth. Children in some parts of the world - too many considering the progress - had no drinking water, could not live their childhood. Their parents sold them in order not to have a mouth to feed. Those who had managed to survive the misery, find daggers like yours, but they used them to fight at the cost of their lives. Fighting for men who were convinced that strength was the only valid answer."

"You think violence is the answer too."

"No!" Xeno exclaimed. He had to add more now that he had the chance. "There were also orphans, children who did not know who were their parents, people who had abandoned the flesh of their flesh to live better. Violent men who waged war to compensate only for their ego... I don't want this. I want a world in which people can recognize the real progress given by science. You probably don't care about these things because you couldn't see all this suffering with your own eyes. You were lucky that your family was fine... maybe you still have your parents, brothers or sisters you didn't have to see weaken to deat-"

" _You know nothing_ , Dr. Xeno!" Kohaku protested, pulling away and turning to him. She pointed the dagger at him. "You don't know my life, my past as I don't know yours. Don't talk as if you weren't one of them, you shot us when we arrived," she reminded him, gritting her teeth. It was clear from her eyes that she would not believe any more of his words yet. "You don't care about peace, you don't want to change the world for others, you want to do it for yourself alone!"

If he could, Xeno would have lowered his arms in surrender, but he couldn't. He bowed his head as Kohaku's words rang in his mind. He knew anything, he knew too much, he couldn't have heard that sentence from someone who hadn't even been petrified.

Senkuu had pledged to brainwash them if even reality couldn't convince her. He had to apologize, reassure her or he would lose any chance of leading her to him.

"I…"

"Why is the old pervert no longer tied up? What happened?"

Both Kohaku and Xeno turned to look at Ryuusui who had joined them.

He was not alone, there were Suika on his shoulders, Francois, Carlos, Senkuu clinging to Gen and Luna who hesitantly stretched a hand towards Senkuu's arm, hoping he would notice her. The others were barely distinguishable, behind them or at the trees that had grown thicker there.

"The scarf fell off," Xeno lied, exchanging a quick glance with his watcher. "And I was begging Miss Kohaku not to put it back on me… I'll be silent."

"You bastar..." Ryuusui growled, but stopped. "Let's keep walking. As soon as the sun goes down, we'll make camp. We'll take shifts to sleep, as I said. For now, let's gain a few meters."

"In the middle of the forest. We will move away from the shore, but at least we will be able to blend in with the rest of the vegetation," Senkuu added and Gen helped him through the trees, passing Xeno and Kohaku as well.

The others followed their example too and Kohaku grabbed Xeno by the rope that kept him tied but she did not lift him yet.

"I didn't need you to say that," she murmured into his hair, just lifting at the tips. "I took off the foulard."

"I know, but I had to," he contradicted her. He needed to get her to his side. He had to apologize for how much it hurt her. "I am sorry for-"

"That's not true," Kohaku cut him off and pushed him to walk faster in front of her. "I've been dealing with **the world's most trust-worthy liar** for years, I realized that you don't really care to apologize... as I realized that when you heard Stanley's voice, it was the only thing that mattered to you."

Xeno turned to her, but Kohaku with a yank stopped him. The man held back a cry of pain from the hit he received.

"So why did you take it off me? I could even scream hoping Stan would hear me. I could also use my mouth to bite you and run away..."

Even Xeno himself did not believe his words, however absurd they were.

"I took it from you because I was hoping you would say what an intelligent person like you - or how you say you are - should say."

"I don't know what you're referring to, Miss Kohaku," he muttered after a few minutes. If she hoped he would just give up because he hadn't been able to talk to Stanley, she had a rather distorted concept of willpower and priorities.

"Of course. _You know nothing_ , Dr. Xeno," she repeated and Xeno winced as he felt the ground was missing from under his feet again.


	5. From page 17 to page 19 (not at all but still)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter before the official one of the manga! I always take a bit to write, I'm so sorry! But also this adventure is almost over - other two chapters!  
> See you later!

The sunset that Senkuu feared had finally come and with it the darkness too. The stars had become more visible unlike the woods around them where it was easy to stumble.

They couldn't light fires or torches because they would indicate their location, attracting Stanley, especially if the soldier climbed trees.

Ryuusui was sure it was the strategy that the enemy had decided to adopt, considering that their planes had been destroyed by the previous fight and above all, Stanley was used to the great heights as he had shown during his attacks or his escape after shooting against the ship and its crew.

However, the young captain was not calm, like the rest of the group - restless for different reasons - in a situation like theirs.

Francois followed him without speaking and Suika, after it had become impossible to run in the woods, had clung to him harder to keep from falling.

Ryuusui raised a hand to touch the girl's to calm her and remind her that he was there. He smiled for a moment, but returned to focus on their path.

Kohaku could see well in the dark, so much so that she avoided colliding with Ryuusui who was walking in front of her more slowly. She wrapped her hand around Xeno's jacket, which continued to hang in midair without making a single sound, and walked over to the captain.

"The n..." she broke off, realizing how her voice was loud or better, how after sunset every sound had been amplified. "The night has come, when do we stop?" She asked in a whisper.

"If you're tired of that, you can leave him to someone else..."

Kohaku had no reason to leave him to others. Ever since they entered the castle to kidnap him, she had been standing next to him. She had tied him up with ease - Xeno hadn't objected - and had carried him without any problems. He had escaped from her grasp only in the underground tunnel, when he was stuck with Chrome and in that moment, her heart pounding as she helped Taiju dig for them, she swore to herself that she would not risk compromising their work again.

She and she alone would be watching the prisoner.

"No, I'm just asking because we should rest... I'm not tired."

"You're doing a great job," Ryuusui told her and, turning to find Senkuu, he looked around.

"It's nothing special," she found herself saying, unable to understand what the boy meant. He had never said such a thing to her.

"Suika will sleep with you in the first turn. We can't afford not to have a strong warrior like you, or I would have let you rest more hours."

Kohaku nodded and started walking again, visibly uncomfortable. She wanted to tell him that she didn't need to sleep and that he didn't have to pay more attention to her just because she was a woman or that she would give up her turn to fight. However, none of these words left her mouth.

Xeno opened his eyes for just a second and then closed them again. It had been up to him, he would have raised them to heaven. He couldn't believe he happened to be between those flirting people. For a brief moment, but only one, he also regretted Luna's company.

\---

"Our group will camp here. Tsukasa, Taiju, Senkuu, Gen, Chrome, Kohaku and Francois sleep. The others will do so as soon as you wake up... except Suika and Xeno who can sleep as long as they want."

"But Suika wants..."

"Suika has to sleep," Ryuusui replied in a tone that didn't allow for replies and the little girl didn't continue.

Luna, when someone happened to list names, was always particularly careful. She had noticed that not only was hers not close to that of Senkuu - this was already a very serious fact - but it had not even been said. She didn't have the same shift as her beloved.

She had to do something! An intelligent and capable girl like her had to solve this grave injustice. After all, love always won!

She walked over to Senkuu, but he was looking at Gen who was still holding him up.

"Senkuu! I'm sleepy now, I was wondering if you wanted… no, I didn't mean to ask you if you wanted to sleep with me! But next to me! It's so dark here!" She muttered but the boy heard her anyway.

"I'm not sleepy, the mentalist and I will exchange with someone from the second shift. So goodnight, Luna," he said and started walking again, dragging Gen.

Luna looked at him - as far as the dim light allowed - and slammed her fisted hand into her palm shortly after when she realized what had happened.

Or what she interpreted.

Senkuu must have been an old-fashioned one, for this reason he had preferred not to sleep next to her or perhaps he wanted her too much to contain himself... he would have respected her will! What a thoughtful boy!

Unlike Luna, Xeno was sleepy and hungry too. He turned when he opened his mouth to yawn, as he could not cover himself with his hand, and with watery eyes, he coughed to attract the attention of the group that had formed around him: Kohaku, Francois, Suika, Ryuusui and the boy with a bow and arrow that from what he had heard was to be called Ukyo.

"With all this dust I thought we were going to bathe, but I understand these things are too hard to understand for you hillbillies... but I care about my personal hygiene!" He muttered, lifting his chin defiantly. As soon as he saw that they had seriously decided to get away from the river, spreading themselves among the bushes, he had thought about what to do to distract them and maybe get closer to the water. If he persuaded someone to untie him to wash, he could 'accidentally' fall into the river and get carried away by the current to the ship where some of his people certainly remained or from there he could communicate with Stanley, using the equipment of the enemies.

He was smarter than them, he wouldn't wait for them to use him to get what they wanted. Any plan was a better alternative than being tied up and humiliated without even trying to escape.

As far-sighted as Xeno was, he hadn't expected them to ignore his escape attempt.

He heard someone sniff and he took a step back to escape their proximity. He looked down and saw Kohaku's hair brushing him over the top of his clothes. The girl had leaned forward to do that vulgar thing.

"Mi-mi-mi-miss, what are you doing?" He stammered in confusion. He was the first to invade other people's space because it was a great way to enslave people and push them to do what he wanted, but that was not the will of his supervisor and Xeno found himself blushing embarrassed. "People don't do these things! Only ani-ani-animals smell each other like dogs, and we are not!"

"But you smell good, you don't need to wash," Kohaku declared, making his sentence fall on dead ears. Xeno looked at her with his mouth open and composed himself after a few seconds, staring at her. Was that a compliment? He asked himself, but preferred not to investigate further. Kohaku, unaware of his thoughts, passed her arm behind his back to take him under the tree where they would lie down. "Someone like you doesn't usually sleep on grass, but I've done it many times and nothing strange happens."

Before Xeno could reply, still shocked by the simplicity of the girl's actions, Ryuusui chuckled.

"That's who you look like! Francois," called his faithful butler, turning to them. "What is the name of that barking dog..."

"All the dogs bark, Ryuusui-sama," Francois pointed out without the phrase affecting their stoic expression.

"True, but I meant that little dog..."

"The dachshund?" Ukyo tried to guess, but Ryuusui shook his head.

"Chalk?" Suika intervened, earning a caress from the captain. The child had already sat on the ground and was waiting for the others to sleep.

"Your friend Chalk is a dog, but it doesn't belong to the breed our host resembles… Guys, the little dog that barks and shivers... what's its name?"

"Did Ryuusui-sama mean a Chihuahua?"

Ryuusui raised his fingers to the sky and snapped them.

"That's right, Francois. Dr. Xeno looks like a Chihuahua!" He decreed before looking at Kohaku. "We could think of keeping him as a puppy, but we have to take care of him, it's a responsibility that I don't know I want... you could do it, you know how to do it with Chalk. Xeno would also a good dog, if you tie him."

Xeno gritted his teeth, ready to growl, but that meant giving him more satisfaction than he deserved. Suddenly he felt that someone was pushing him, or rather he had hit him. His gaze shifted from Ryuusui to the ground. The little girl ran to Kohaku and pulled her down to speak in her ear. The girl nodded and quickly walked away with the kid. Xeno looked away. It didn't take long to figure out what had happened.

However, now it was not the time to be silent.

"You," Xeno called Ryuusui, returning all the contempt he had received from him up to that point. "I understand why you are so irascible towards me and there is no reason to be..."

Ryuusui turned, watching him waiting to hear him. His hand was clenched in a fist against his hip and Ukyo, who was next to him, hoped he didn't use it to hit Xeno. Ukyo could feel how much the presence of the man weighed on Ryuusui. He had to talk to Xeno, Gen had told him, but if he had done so now, Ryuusui could have jeopardized the mentalist's plan and with it the possibility of convincing him to an alliance.

"If you understood why, you would know that there is a reason and it is also serious."

No one had ever seen Ryuusui so severe.

Xeno snorted.

"You're just stupid kids who put that nonsense first like Luna did," he replied, turning his back to him. "If you are so afraid of the scenario in which I am taking Miss Kohaku away from you, it means that you recognize how small you are next..."

Ryuusui's hand snapped forward but didn't land on Xeno's cheek. He squeezed it around his mouth to keep him from speaking any more.

Ukyo stepped on and placed his hand on the captain's wrist. He looked him in the eye.

"The only person who has to be afraid is you, especially if you try to do something to Kohaku. She doesn't need me to be defended," Ryuusui finally said, letting him go. " _ I'm Nanami Ryuusui _ ," he said, frowning as if his name had become an unbearable burden on him. Ukyo's hand slipped against his, but escaped from his grip. However he felt his support which was indispensable to him at the moment.

Ryuusui walked over to Xeno, holding his gaze.

_ "Heir to the Nanami empire, the most powerful family in Japan, if not the whole world. Captain for as long as I can remember, adventurer of every sea and ocean on this planet, the greediest man in the universe... but I could not save Senkuu from the bullets you ordered to fire." _

Xeno for a single moment felt the urge to lower his head. It had been weeks since his decision and even though Senkuu was still alive, each choice had consequences.

_ "What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love? _ You are so blinded by your goal that you don't even care about the people around you, about people you know, but you have preferred to try to eliminate to feel fulfilled, without even trying to choose the most obvious way," Ryuusui continued. 

His eyes were bright, but they hadn't lost the desire to clash and avenge what they had suffered. "If you think I treated you that way just because of what you did to the ship or something you misunderstood, maybe we overestimated you. You're not as sharp as you want to believe."

Xeno wanted to snort, but he didn't even try. He had done exactly what he had said and like every decision he had made, he had been aware of what he had decided. If he came back he might not have tried to kill Senkuu… at least not just him, not in their territory. It didn't matter what the boy in front of him had said. He could talk as much as he wanted about power and what it means to live to get it. Ryuusui was born already rich, he had not fought for his goal, he had not desired a world where progress was the only priority. Those like Ryuusui were also those who hindered the progress of science, craving for money and only they knew what.

"Power is not for everyone, Mr. Ryuusui," Xeno decided to say. "If it has had this effect on you, it means you are not up to it."

He lifted his chin and marched to the other side, passing him without giving him a chance to reply.

\---

"I'm not sleepy, the mentalist and I will exchange with someone from the second shift. So goodnight, Luna."

Gen looked at Senkuu and, even when he had begun to drag him away, he couldn't help at least smile.

It was mean even for someone like him, but seeing Senkuu ignore her gave him hope.

Maybe he wasn't the mentalist he once was. He was letting himself go too far, all to be close to Senkuu.

"Senkuu-chan, but what are you doing, you are ignoring your wife?~" Gen asked him, mumbling as many words as possible so as not to give him a chance to ignore him, but he never expected a real answer from him. "I didn't think you were that kind of husband… who does anything to get married and then neglects his sweet lady..."

"I only got married once for five minutes and it was the longest five minutes of my life, mentalist," he said, gritting his teeth as if saying that sentence was costing him too much.

They had quietly moved away from the group, hiding between two curved trees. 

Gen was torn. He didn't know whether to continue talking about Luna or trying to make conversation with Senkuu but the only thing he wanted to hear from his lips was that he had misunderstood, that he was not interested in his new suitor.

But he couldn't speak. He couldn't forget how much Senkuu had ignored him and preferred to compliment a stranger. He folded his arms in his kimono, sat down on one of the logs and looked down from the back of Senkuu's head.

Perhaps it was Gen, the mentalist, who was a stranger to him, if after all he had done, Senkuu had not appreciated his work.

"So how was your love story born? Each of us was in danger of dying, you were also shot and you also found the time to get engaged..."

Senkuu turned towards him to look at him for a moment, then returned to his former position.

"She told me that once he was saved, I had to become her boyfriend. While I was on my deathbed."

"Incredibly romantic," Gen commented. "Every child's dream to hear that their parents have fallen in love like this..."

Senkuu did not yield to his umpteenth provocation.

"Mentalist, what have you got today? You want to see me at the gallows too insistently..."

"At the altar, you meant, Senkuu-chan," he corrected him, arching his eyebrow.

"They are mainly synonymous with that girl."

Gen made a strangled sound that he hadn't been able to stifle.

"I tried to extract information from her as you would, with your charm. But you are a player and everyone falling for you, while I now have to put up with - until I heal - that girl."

"My, my, how wicked you are, Senkuu-chan! Nobody forced you to compliment her though..." he meowed. "The relationships begin in this way are the ones destined to last-"

"As soon as she said this thing about the boyfriend, I got on the plane. I almost hoped to crash to the ground for having nothing to do with her… girls are a nuisance!"

Gen would have laughed, but the image of the hypothetical accident wasn't funny.

"I still don't understand why you complimented her then..."

Senkuu whistled, careless that he could be heard.

"Do I have to think you're jealous, mentalist?"

'No, of course not!' Gen wanted to shout at him but he remained silent. Senkuu despised Luna, but he had given her more consideration than he had ever given Gen and having saved his life had no meaning. It had not pushed to give her more importance because Gen had lost count of the occasions in which HE had saved Senkuu's life.

And how many Senkuu had saved him.

He did not forget, however, all the times when Senkuu exchanged signs of understanding with others, but not with him.

He hadn't even cared about how his stay at the castle had gone or what he'd discovered living with Xeno's people.

"Jealous..." Gen repeated with contempt. 

Jealousy was too small a word to contain what Senkuu made him feel. Senkuu was a Capricorn and as such he would never speak openly about his feelings and had his own way of showing his affection. However, there was no zodiac sign that could justify the lack he felt from him. However now they were at war, he unlike other people, could not distract himself with his feelings. Also, if he answered seriously, it would put Senkuu in the worst condition.

Admitting the truth would only prompt Senkuu to face his feelings and probably push him away. He smiled at Senkuu.

"Don't put your finger between wife and husband, they say so, right?" He replied, lifting his legs to find a new, more comfortable position. Senkuu looked at him and only when Gen stopped moving, he sit down.

On his trunk, close, too close to Gen.

"It's cold," Senkuu justified himself, putting an arm around Gen' shoulders. "You know I can't tolerate low temperatures."

Gen could almost feel his heart breaking. Not only could he not hope that his friend - or perhaps he wasn't even his friend now - would not return his feelings, but he also had to sleep next to him.

Even though Senkuu had said he didn't want to sleep, Gen was not of the same opinion. They asked Max and Carlos to swap turn but the two refused because they had to protect Luna.

However, Gen would have preferred to get some sleep to avoid reliving his memories.

"I'll give you my..." he proposed, but Senkuu immediately understood that he wanted to take off his kimono to give it to him. He stopped him and rested his head on Gen's shoulder, lowering his own arms on his back.

"Mentalist, next time you will be using me as a pillow."

Gen sighed and didn't even bother with the noise he made.

"Your love should do it, not me."

It was then that Senkuu turned to him, moving his leg to sit on his lap. He rested his face in his neck. Even though Gen was fully clothed and Senkuu's breathing barely warmed his skin, he felt chills.

"Kukuku... mentalist, it will surprise you but-"

Gen put his hand on Senkuu's mouth, preventing him from speaking. He didn't want to hear him say anything, anything good or bad, about love.

"Shhh," he silenced him, "I thought I heard a noise," he warned him even though he was lying. "We shouldn't be talking... not now."

With him he could never speak at all.

They had the whole of humanity to save, his feelings would always come later.

\---

Of all those around him, Xeno was surprised to notice how well-mannered and composed a child was.

She hadn't complained about having to sleep on the ground, without eating and in the cold, all of which Xeno himself would have gladly protested.

The presence of the child urged him not to give in. Not only in this way would he avoid being insulted by the captain who had no intention of forgiving what he had done, but above all for his own pride.

Complaining and losing the confrontation with a little girl meant being inferior and Xeno didn't like that concept.

"I'm sorry," Xeno heard Ryuusui say as he talked to Kohaku and Suika. "Unfortunately it was an impromptu escape and we don't have anything to eat. We can't even start a fire," he continued. 

Xeno didn't think that this boy loved his crew so much that he was ashamed for not providing for their needs. 

It was something the weak did, put people first.

Kohaku had begun to comb, or rather to run her fingers through the hair of the child who had placed her head on her lap, like a daughter waiting for her young mother to finish it. 

In the moonlight, something in the watermelon-shaped helmet glinted. Unnoticed, Xeno leaned forward to get a better look and noticed that there were glass in the holes. It was probably Senkuu, he didn't think the survivors' descendants could work that kind of material on their own. Even if he wanted to know more, he preferred to keep quiet.

"This isn't the first time you've gone to sleep with an empty stomach, am I wrong?" Ryuusui asked, twitching his jaw to try hard not to scream. Kohaku looked away, fiddling with Suika's hair and Xeno looked up in anticipation of her response.

"It's not a problem…"

"It is instead!" Ryuusui protested, raising his voice. Realizing his mistake, he gasped and resumed speaking in a whisper. "Since you told me about the village and the fact that you have lost human lives due to lack of food, I promised you that it would never happen, that no woman would go hungry and look, you couldn't eat..." he said excitedly, turning at the end of his monologue a clear look full of contempt towards Xeno who did not know how to react.

The descendants of the last survivors (whom Xeno suspected were the six astronauts he had assisted in their mission and training months before sending them into space) were the hope of the new world.

It was true that Senkuu knew the formula for awakening people but if there were other problems, if Senkuu's mind didn't find that solution, humanity would be extinct or Xeno and his men would have to churn out children until extreme (scenario that the scientist would have liked to erase from his mind at the same time he was forced to think about it). If the descendants went extinct, it would have been a problem. For this, Xeno would have preferred that they surrender without resistance, so as not to be forced to end their lives.

Kohaku shrugged.

Xeno had only seen her for a few hours, he didn't know her, but he felt that conversation was making her uncomfortable.

"Ryuusui, I need to talk to you."

Ukyo, who until then had remained silent in a corner, stood up and approached the captain, who after looking at Xeno and Kohaku again, walked away with the archer.

Francois, like Ukyo, had remained silent until that moment.

"Ryuusui-sama loves you more than he admits, Kohaku-sama," they said, nodding briefly at their own words. "Breaking a promise is not what he expects of himself."

"It's okay, Francois. Tomorrow will be better," she replied, raising her head and her gaze also met Xeno's, who hadn't stopped looking at her since she started talking.

"Did the little girl fall asleep?" Xeno then asked her, noting that despite the brief discussion, Suika hadn't moved. Kohaku stopped stroking her hair and in fact, the little girl's shoulders heaved just to breathe.

Kohaku nodded.

"I prefer she fell asleep rather than hearing what Ryuusui said," she murmured more to herself than to the others. "Not her."

Xeno looked down. 

The rope around his arms bothered him more than before. His claws weighed on the tips of his fingers.

He could finally understand Kohaku's reaction, even though he not knew many points of the story yet.

"Is the girl an orphan? Have you lost someone due to lack of resources?" He asked even if from the girl's expression he realized he had exaggerated.

"Xeno-sama," Francois interjected before the girl could get angry again. "The village where Suika-sama and Kohaku-sama come from has seen many dark days and it is thanks to the science of Senkuu-sama that their fortunes have recovered."

"I guessed it," Xeno replied, disguising interest.

"Dr. Xeno," Kohaku called him. "A smart man like you has understood all this from a couple of sentences. Impressive."

Xeno tried to smile, but couldn't. There was something in her voice that made him feel guilty.

"I'm sorry," he said and had to admit to himself that he really was sorry. He had not seen people he loved die in front of him, but he knew what the corruption of men could cause. Science, on the other hand, was always a friend of humanity… it was the people who used it in a foolish and violent way.

"Yet my sister is alive, safe and sound. She had a bad illness," Kohaku informed him. "Which was defeated only thanks to Senkuu and science."

"Science is elegant, Miss Kohaku, and that's what I want the world to understand."

The girl snorted.

"And is a war against us really indispensable, who adore science almost as much as you do?"

Xeno cocked his head in anticipation of her explanation. He could not recognize any sound from her lips, even though he knew her language well.

"What…"

Francois remained silent, leaving Kohaku the chance to let off steam and Xeno the chance to listen to her.

"Senkuu and the others do not want to fight and the only war we have faced in recent years has ended without any death because science and progress are the only things we care about, that Senkuu has in mind to awaken all the statues... You repeat these words but you shoot at us. You threaten us. You want to eliminate us. You probably can't wait for Stanley to kill us. What will happen to the other statues once they are awakened? How do you see this world if you say there have been bad things you want to protect it from but have no qualms about killing us? What makes you different from the people you say used violence before science and you want to fight? Yours are all lies... the only person you want to win on this earth it is you."

Her questions deserved answers, but Xeno was speechless. He wanted to know more - he wanted to ask what Senkuu had done for the village across the ocean, but his mouth didn't open. He remained silent in front of the watery eyes of the incredibly strong girl who had tied him up hours before.

"Kohaku-sama, Xeno-sama," Francois called them and only then Xeno turned to look at the other person in their company. "You better sleep, in a few hours we may have to move."

Kohaku took her daggers and held them firmly in her hands. She leaned the back of her head against the trunk she was leaning on and closed her eyes although she didn't want to sleep at all.

The words she had uttered weighed on her heart as much as they did on the conscience of the scientist they were directed to.

Xeno crossed his legs, although he found the position incredibly uncomfortable and stared at a point in front of him.

It had been years since he walked the corridors of NASA and even earlier when he gazed with admiration at the names of the most illustrious scientists that the academic world revered. He wished he were one of them someday and now he could have the chance to turn the tide of the whole of human history… yet Kohaku's sequence of questions was making him question his vision up to that point. 

He lay on his side and closed his eyes.

He had to go to the bathroom but he would never ask them to help him. If he had fallen asleep he would have ignored that need too.

Once awakened he would also forget the doubts that were lulling him to sleep.


	6. Page 20 (not at all but still)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to take so long but life happens and problems too. Thank you waiting for me and my stories, so here the new chapter! The last one will probably very long but I will post it sooner than last updates! I leave a little recap about the story so to not be lost.
> 
> Xeno is kidnapped but he hasn't a yatch so the junior science brigade have to walk in the forest to not be killed. Stan thinks they should be killed but Gen has a plan: use Ukyo's Pacific soul and his secret theory to their advantage while Xeno himself thinks about convince Kohaku to change side... until he finds out that life of new generation isn't easy at all. Meanwhile Gen is jealous of Luna being Senkuu's stalker and his compliments for her, but differently from the canon, Senkuu understands his feelings.  
> Ryuusui hates Xeno for killing or almost killing Senkuu and Francois is classy as always. 
> 
> Time passes but the chapter 168 is still the evil reincarnated.

Their footsteps seemed to have gotten much louder in the dark. It didn't necessarily have Ukyo's highly developed hearing to figure that out.

Every movement, even those of the enemy, could be announced, it was enough to know how to listen.

Ryuusui stopped walking as soon as he was sure that Xeno couldn't hear them from there. For obvious reasons they would have whispered every word and it was almost impossible that he could hear them, but he wanted to eradicate even the thought that someone had managed to hear their dialogue. Whatever Ukyo wanted to tell him - his instinct was telling him with confidence - was crucial to their escape.

Very often Senkuu had surprised him with his plans and Ryuusui was sure that this time too he had thought of something interesting.

When the archer reached him, trying not to make more noises than he should, Ryuusui passed a hand around his wrist returning to the boy his previous attempt to calm him down. Ukyo was relieved that Ryuusui couldn't see how embarrassing he was right now even though he was unlucky enough to feel the pulse increase. On a cold night like that, it would be hard not to feel his warmth.

"Maybe I exaggerated," Ryuusui sadly considered in a whisper that could have been mistaken for a breath of wind, if Ukyo hadn't been able to hear any noise clearly. However Ukyo had not tried to push him away just to keep him from continuing his outburst or to prevent him from frightening others with his seriousness.

By now the archer had gotten to know the captain and knew that his words had been more than spontaneous, as was his concern especially for the women in the group. The greediest man in the world was also the most attentive to the needs of others. "It's since I've been here that my pride has been trying to make me look like I'm not. I can't wait to face Stanley Snyder and settle the score with him."

Ukyo tried to open his mouth to calm him, but Ryuusui's moment of reflection did not last long.

"What do you want to tell me? Has Senkuu to-?" He asked in his ear in a whisper that sounded like a scream to Ukyo. The young man smiled embarrassed at his breath against his skin, but he did not let himself be distracted by his mission.

"No, it's Gen... we have to get Xeno to our side, I know you don't want to have anything to do with him, but..."

"I know, I know... even though the last few days have strained my nerves and I have reacted badly with him, I recognize his value and importance. People change and I wouldn't be the greediest man in the world if I did not desire all living men and women."

Ukyo still couldn't breathe the sigh of relief he needed.

"The Ryuusui I knew would never lose his temper, you have grown up and that's an honorable thing."

Ryuusui looked down, not letting go of his wrist.

"I really love Senkuu, and although I'm optimistic, seeing him breathe hard in a pool of blood has… blew me away."

Ukyo understood his words and even more his reaction.

Senkuu was fundamental to the whole of humanity and everyone, Ryuusui was one of his closest friends with whom he shared many projects and plans of attack. Ukyo never wanted to see a friend - or even just a simple stranger - risk dying after suffering without being able to do anything to help and save them.

For someone like Ryuusui who was used to having the world in his hands, just being a spectator to the pain of others had put him to the test. Xeno was the most powerful enemy of all, but as Gen had said, he was still human.

Focusing on convincing an opponent with whom they shared their nature not to fight was the best choice at the time.

Ukyo freed himself from his grasp and in a quick snap - before he could think it wasn't the case and then freeze - put both his arms around Captain Nanami's neck, squeezing him in a shy hug.

He wanted to say too many words to him, but none left his lips. However, speaking with a friend was superfluous. They already had their hearts to communicate.

Ryuusui hugged him back and placed his hand on his Ukyo hat, making it press against his silver hair to bring him closer.

Ukyo believed he would feel Ryuusui's breath against his skin, but the captain just squeezed him tighter. 

It was perfect, they didn't need anything else.

\---

In the moonlight, Senkuu's face looked even whiter than it had to be to be healthy. Gen wanted to stop staring at him, but the terrible possibility that his beloved Senkuu-chan had lost too much blood scared him too much.

He was sleeping against his shoulder, his arms were around Gen's waist so as not to fall off the log they were sitting on, but the mentalist couldn't sleep.

Fear wasn't his only company.

Thoughts were becoming so loud that it distracted him from the call of the nocturnal animals hiding in the trees. He hoped that the enemy would not reach them there, that he would not once again endanger Senkuu's life and that above all he would no longer experience that unhealthy feeling - called jealousy for practicality - towards little Luna.

Whatever Senkuu's feelings were, Gen had to accept them and certainly nothing would change. He loved and supported any of Senkuu's decisions, although his unrequited feelings would hurt him.

Ever since he fell in love with him, Gen knew all too well that it would be the first game he would lose without being able to rely on the tricks his work had taught him. If he had manipulated Senkuu - like someone else - into forcing him to love him and put their story before science itself, it would not have been fair. As it would not have been fair to ask him to give up his goal. Senkuu was married even before all to science and the whole of humanity. Gen would never be the other man.

As for his own need to be loved, Gen reminded himself with a bitter smile that he would once again be ignored. His destiny was to be alone and he would be, accepting reality, not trying to force it to his liking.

He would have been in the background, letting Senkuu love even a woman and grow up without any conditioning on his part. His every success would be his too and every person he loved, Gen would call them his friend.

In the moonlight that night, the mentalist had nothing left but to watch over his Senkuu-chan, saying goodbye to the hope that unbeknownst to him had remained by his side in silence until then.

"Mentalist," Senkuu grumbled, hugging him. "Talk to me."

Gen's eyes widened, trying not to panic as he was. There was no way Senkuu had learned to read his mind in the weeks they had been apart, but it almost seemed like he had.

If he said what he wanted, Gen would find himself making a fool of himself in expressing his feelings. He didn't want to do that, and he didn't want to ignore Senkuu's request either.

"You're a nice couple, you and Lu-"

"Stop mentioning her, I don't want to hear that name yet. Stop," he protested. His deep voice made his complainant even more menacing, although he didn't even try to look him in the eye. "Mentalist, I don't want to hear your stupid jokes about it, I want to hear what you're thinking now and it's not about that."

His request was not what Gen had expected.

"What does it tell you I wasn't thinking about you and your wife?"

"Mentalist, I know you," he replied, scuppering his attempt to disguise indifference. "I know you weren't wasting your time thinking about Luna."

Gen smiled.

"And what do you think deserves my attention then?"

Senkuu smirked and moved his face more against Gen's neck. The heat of his body wasn't enough to keep him warm but he couldn't help it.

"Us."

An owl's cry became louder than a roar around the two of them.

Gen wasn't sure he had heard correctly, so much so that even when he heard branches breaking behind them, he thought he had imagined that sound too.

"The two of us," Senkuu repeated, not happy to have been ignored. "Asagiri Gen and Ishigami Senkuu. Us. Nobody else."

Gen could not deny. He knew him. How he knew Senkuu.

"I can tell you what I saw at the castle. I had to report to you as soon as we met again."

"Asagiri Gen, that's not what I want now," Senkuu contradicted him. "Tell me about us."

"If I did, would you be able to hold the conversation?" He asked him. The only thing holding him back was forcing Senkuu to make a decision and break his own heart. "I thought there were illogical things in this world for you."

"It is certainly not you who are illogical, mentalist," Senkuu replied promptly. "You aren't illogical. Not at all."

Gen tried to open his mouth to reply but was forced to close it at least a couple of times because he didn't know what had happened to the Senkuu he knew. Maybe he was bored and wanted to spend time at his expense. Deep down, in his heart, Gen was aware that sooner or later he would have to face this conversation with him. As much as being rejected might hurt him, Gen had to remind himself that he would do anything for Senkuu.

"What do you want to hear me say? I swear I will not lie to you," he whispered, tilting his head to rest it on Senkuu's. His hair went limp against his cheek pinching him, but Gen didn't change position.

"You never lied to me. You never betrayed me. Everything happened just to make our plan possible, and it always will be."

Gen groaned in response as Senkuu stuck a finger in his ear as he usually did.

"And yet hearing Luna call me her boyfriend made you jealous."

The other guy wanted to deny but couldn't lie to him.

"So it seems, Senkuu-chan."

"Did you feel left out? It wasn't my intention. I know how important it is to make others feel appreciated and I didn't do it with you, I recognize it. It's one of my mistakes."

Gen should have protested but it was true. He had thought that perhaps this time, Senkuu would have valued his work more and yet he had found himself replaced by an unknown girl and Senkuu, who Gen had left him healthy, had found him seriously injured.

"Sometimes it seems that you can understand me with a single glance, that you can predict my moves and what I need. I wondered if it was possible only because you are a mentalist, but I believe that even if you didn't know psychology or if you were born in the village, you could have read me like a book anyway. It's not about luck or coincidence. It's really you."

Gen could not interrupt him even if he wanted to ask him more. He let him speak.

"Mentalist, thank you for everything you do. For everyone. You have saved my life more than once. You have saved the realm of science and you have not done it with your strength but with your talent. You are the one who does more than all to get to our goal and I'm sure we'll fall in the hell together with no regrets," Senkuu confessed, not giving himself a chance to stop his stream of consciousness. "I think what we're talking about embarrasses both of us, but we may never know when we'll have another chance like this to talk again. Plus if we don't talk about something, I'll be seriously sleepy."

Senkuu was not the type to compliment and he certainly managed to give them more to those he didn't love than to those who could embarrass him and force him to face his feelings. In this Gen felt incredibly similar to him.

"Are you saying I'm the best mentalist in the world, Senkuu-chan?" He asked him in a low but cloying voice how he used to do when he played the role of the mentalist character, not the Gen person.

"Do you really need me to say such an obviousness? But if it makes you happy, sure. You are the best mentalist in the known and unknown world."

"Thanks Senkuu-chan, you too are a bit good as a scientist."

Senkuu didn't reply, he just smirked.

Gen felt that his arms were tightening more around his waist.

"When the world returns to normal, everyone will know your name, Senkuu-chan, as the one who saved the whole humanity."

"Our name. Mine, yours, Chrome's, Kohaku's, Ryuusui's, Kaseki's… the whole village too,” Senkuu corrected him.

"You are not interested in dominating. We are alike in this, dear Senkuu, but unfortunately Xeno is of the opposite view."

Senkuu smiled without moving his head from Gen's shoulder.

"Do you really want to distract me and make me believe your plan won't work?"

"I didn't think you were so sure of me, what an honor, Senkuu-chan! But it's also a great concern and responsibility!"

"I couldn't give it to someone other than you, mentalist. I can't spend every day telling you how smart and capable you are. Even if I should have," he sighed. "This is the first time we've been talking like this, isn't it? I should almost thank Stanley for shoot-"

"Senkuu-chan!"

Senkuu didn't try to finish his sentence, but began to say what he had devoted hours of reflection to.

"There are many things I don't know. Many things I don't understand, many things that I underestimated, but which are actually extremely important. And many of these things you can teach me. Every day I learn something from you, and I should be more grateful to you and of who I am now. I'm just an ungrateful bastard who's ashamed to say he loves the people around him. It's been years since I woke up, but sometimes I feel like I'm still the spoiled kid who screamed at not being hugged by his father."

He took a deep breath and continued.

"But that's not it. I'm growing up, I'm 19 years old. I've risked dying often... more than I should have. And even if accepting my feelings is difficult, it doesn't mean they don't exist or that they will be always like this. Love is basically studied by science. And I don't want to miss any discovery that will be made. I am no longer alone as I woke up after 3700 years. I can never be alone and you must not feel that way either. I am not saying that you must not be the superficial man that you pride yourself on being, because you never asked me to give up what I had built to live with the world, but we have a promise and I intend to keep it."

Gen put a hand on Senkuu's chest to check that he wasn't leaking any more blood. The cloth wasn't wet under his palm, but Gen didn't move it.

"Asagiri Gen and Ishigami Senkuu will fall into hell together," Gen recited, passing the other arm around Senkuu. 

"Together." 

Gen didn't know what to say more, he didn't want to spoil the moment. He remained silent and Senkuu took the opportunity to continue.

"For this reason I am grateful to Luna, as I am grateful to Kohaku or Ryuusui. Everyone seems to share our goal, we will have time to get to know each other... but the fact that you are jealous for such a stupid thing, I will be happy to remind you for a few more time."

"Meh, Senkuu-chan, I don't know you look like a different man, maybe you really fall in love with Luna-chan! After all, when you finish saving the world, you will have plenty of time to start a family and teach many little Senkuu-chans Pythagorean theorem…"

Senkuu made a derisive sound.

"It's something you often say, as if I really cared about girls or as if after the whole of humanity returns, I won't devote myself to science again..."

Gen admitted to himself that in fact Senkuu had never said such a thing and that he was answering everyone like that in his place, as if his desire to be able to conquer Senkuu had got the better of reality itself.

"It's like you could get away from me. When that day comes, we'll have new adventures to live, mentalist. And plenty of time to face them. Unless you really want a harem?"

Gen stiffened.

It was obvious that Senkuu had remembered what he had said to convince him at the time to be offered something better than Tsukasa. But in reality he was not very interested in a harem or would have tried to have one already in the Stone World when he spoke to girls very rarely. And Senkuu knew it was a bluff, but he had said it now to make fun of him. Typical of him, but this time Gen couldn't blame him.

"My harem will see the light in a few years, when I will be rich enough to keep all the girls who adore me... until then, you can explain to me the Pythagorean theorem and all those things that you usually say but that in reality I just confuse them."

"It might take a little mentalist, so I wouldn't be so optimistic about the harem..."

"I'll get over it, then."

They both smiled even though they couldn't look each other in the eye. They were still curled up against the cold of the night and had no intention of changing positions.

"Will the first shift be over? Senkuu-chan, now you should get some sleep."

Senkuu did not nod. He hugged him and silently closed his eyes.

"Great job, mentalist. Thanks for everything," he repeated. "From now on, I'm not going to take for granted how much you need to hear it like before. I just ask you not to get jealous, if I'm your usual bastard. The emotions are exhausting."

Gen wanted to deny but it was too late.

"Great job, Senkuu-chan..."

He wanted to tell him more, really much more, but preferred to keep quiet. They would have a lot of time to share and one day, all their questions would be answered. The weight that Gen had on his heart melted, he could only feel Senkuu in his arms and some footsteps that went away crushing the foliage around them.

"You are right. After all we are never really alone, Senkuu-chan..."

\---

The pressure he felt in his belly was unbearable.

Even sleeping couldn’t distract him from his own body. Xeno opened his eyes with difficulty, too tired and stressed by the rope to bear his state.

Stan would find him sooner or later and his humiliation would be avenged. He narrowed his eyes as he felt tears wet his lashes. 

He was a strong man, he was a strong man, he was a strong man, he repeated himself. 

He had to resist and he would have made those troglodytes regret having treated him so treacherously.

He decreed that changing his position as well as allowing him a better view of the field could also help him resist the urge of his bladder. The first thing he saw was Kohaku's legs and her body curled up for warmth next to Suika's. The girl was trembling and, only thanks to the moonlight reflecting on her blade, Xeno realized that she was not hugging the child to whom she seemed very attached but she was holding her daggers.

He frowned.

Kohaku hadn't known the world he himself came from and how a woman like her would be in serious danger there but it almost seemed like she was used to it. Life was not like in the 21st century, but Kohaku was always on the defensive because she had learned from birth to defend herself and to fight for survival.

It was… sad.

Xeno was fascinated by weapons and their functioning, by their mechanics imbued with science and elegance but they were to be used only in his service, not for having to defend himself. Part of him wondered what she had to endure, besides seeing people from her village die and nearly losing her sister. It was something her daggers couldn't defeat anyway and...

There was no point in thinking about why Kohaku had daggers in her hands. She was as worried as anyone since they knew Stanley were looking for them and certainly not to talk. She was curled up next to Suika to seek warmth but it was insufficient. The night was cold and it would be the next day too… if she could survive.

“You are awake, dr. Xeno."

Xeno looked away from Kohaku to look at Ukyo who had approached him. The last time he saw him, Ukyo had distracted Ryuusui from his outburst. Only then Xeno realized that Francois was no longer beside them.

"Apparently," he replied bored.

"You have to go to the bathroom... I can untie you."

For a single moment Xeno was grateful, but he seemed too kind to be disinterested. He was also the first who had wanted to tie him stronger.

"You could never escape with your pants down and then I can stop you with a single arrow..." Ukyo replied as if he had read in his mind.

"I could pretend and not pull my pants down at all," he retorted, trying to ignore his body. The last thing he wanted was to even thank his jailers. “So I could escape. Besides, I'm pretty smart and I'd know how to avoid your arrows."

Ukyo looked at him without comment. His gaze was directed at his hips as Xeno was moving them imperceptibly to resist the urge to urinate.

"As you like, but I need to talk to you and you would be more careful, if you took your bathroom break now."

Xeno narrowed his eyes. He wanted to talk to him. From what he had been able to guess, based on the role that each social group suited to individual members, Ukyo seemed to him the silent one that he preferred not to expose himself too much if not by force majeure. Whatever he wanted to say could interest him; it wouldn't have been taken for granted at all.

At best, he could even propose to betray his friends.

"Untie me then," he agreed, leaning forward to expose the knot of the ropes. Ukyo expected it. Xeno wanted to be in control even in that situation, so he untied him without trying to ruin his ego.

The scientist stood up and after extending both the legs and arms that had lost sensitivity due to their unnatural position in turn, before following Ukyo, he unbuttoned his overcoat. The archer did not ask him why, he just looked at him.

Then Xeno adjusted it on Kohaku and Suika with carefully… Ukyo couldn't believe what he was witnessing, but it couldn't be a bad sign.

However, Xeno pulled himself together, stiffening his shoulders and looking away from the sleeping Kohaku, who had sensed that thin layer of fabric and clung to it, and from Ukyo himself.

"I don't want to dirty it and the ropes made me warm up enough since they squeezed my arms too much..."

"You don't have to explain anything to me," he replied. "Whatever your reason is, it certainly can't help you escape."

"No," Xeno agreed. His overcoat would have hindered his movements, considering that his arms ached from being compressed by the rope and placing it on the ground would have stained it and it would have been more useful to the two sleeping girls, after all. "No. Indeed."

\---

He didn't want to say it, but he had to acknowledge it.

Those savages weren't as naïve as Xeno and he thought.

Stanley rubbed his fingers to wipe the dirt off the glove he had touched in trying to find evidence but if they had been there, their tracks had been painstakingly erased.

Yet he was sure they were there. The underground tunnel that he had found partially blocked ended a few meters from the castle and there were more directions in which they could move.

To the north they would return to the perimeter of the fortress so it was out of the question, but they could have chosen any other road and although the lantern still had hours of autonomy, every slightest mistake by the enemy or their own responded to give an advantage to the other group and Stan would never have condemned himself with his own hands.

He had to change his strategy, he had to choose a single path and bet on that. Letting people warn him was a weak point. The group of fugitives could have moved on while the alarm was raised.

Not everyone would be able to take the path, he was aware of that. Some of the men on his team had a high chance of finding the guys, but he was going to pull the trigger and he had to get there first without anyone noticing.

Stan lifted his chin, trying not to pass on that shred of uncertainty he felt to his team. He said he could do anything and he was sure of it. But when Xeno's life was in danger, he sometimes lost sight of the possibilities that were playing in his favor.

Looking for a group of teenagers, at night, without knowing which path they had traveled...

Stanley, now that he had tried to think like little boys with no experience of war, had in mind what their most likely destination was: the ship they had captured that day.

It was the only destination they could aspire to, even if they couldn't use it to return to their country either because they had to gather all the crew before leaving and they couldn't since there were other of his men there led by Maya and also because the ship was in very bad condition due to the attack.

They would have used it as a place of exchange but they were at a disadvantage... no, Stanley told himself, they did not want to exchange hostages, but to offer something...

Probably they had in mind, given their peaceful disposition and open to confrontation, a truce.

Truce that Stanley wouldn't have accepted without a fight first. Xeno wouldn't even let himself be persuaded by just a gun aimed at. He had utmost faith in Xeno.

Stanley had left Brody to fix the least damaged plane in the hope that it would be enough to allow him to use it at the crack of dawn to attack them from the sky, but the engineer had given no hope of that.

After subduing the group of savages, Stan would have thought of a punishment even for those who had allowed Xeno to be kidnapped and who still did not understand who the boss was there.

However, if the Japanese were headed for the Stanley ship and his group could wait for them there, but if he did, part of him would be incredibly offended. He had promised them to hunt and the hunt would begin.

He spat on the ground what was left of the umpteenth cigarette and put out the butt with the heel of his boot.

"You two with me," he ordered two of the stronger men who were walking a few meters to the west.

"Captain, but..."

"I said with me. I doubt the others will be able to find them before me and you have to distract their samurai while I kill Senkuu Ishigami and recover dr. Xeno. Then we can calmly exterminate the rest of their group. All you can kill."

The two soldiers nodded and walked over to Stan who was feeling his pockets for cigarettes, but he no longer felt anything under his fingers.

Finding out that his best friend had been kidnapped and that for the first time his bullets hadn't hit who he shot to had made him so nervous that he had lost count of how many matches he had lit.

He looked around and saw Charlotte's head sticking out of the tunnel pit. The woman shook off some dirt and stood up.

"Captain Snyder!"

Faced with her enthusiasm for him, Stan rolled his eyes, in a way so imperceptible that it suggested that he was well trained to react that way without anyone noticing.

The expert sniper approached her.

"I checked their sequences but couldn't pick up anything else."

"And wh-" he was about to scold her but Charlotte continued.

"I brought you some cigarettes, you smoke more when..."

Stanley took them from her hand and slipped one between his lips without even waiting for the woman to finish her sentence.

"... you're nervous."

Only when he waved the match to blow it out Stanley looked at her with something in his gaze that resembled gratitude.

"Go back to the castle now and get Brody to get a move on. Whatever their plan is, I have to stop them and kill them."

"At your orders, captain!"

As he savored the cigarette he didn't know he desired most, Stanley looked out at the forest he had turned towards. Even a non-expert in the area could understand that he would take the group to the ship by traveling it.

"Not bad, kids, but wanting to be found so desperately will be the last thing you will do," he whispered to himself. “The last one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: In the Charlotte scene, in the draft I wrote months ago it was Maya but I realized that Maya was at the ship and also in the meanwhile we learn that Stan's twin sis (I know she isn't but a girl can dream) is called Charlotte so here we go.  
> Note 2: I am following the idea I got when I read the evil reincarnated chapter 168 but it is a bit influenced by minor details in the manga... and probably too much sengen but their scene was too cute I can't stop 😭😭😭  
> Note 3: I read again this story to finish this chapter and some parts are too stupid but honestly I like it so much, hope you enjoy this. See you for the last chapter and to updates of other stories and to new ones! With love, Yasmine! 💗💗💗


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